Behind the Mask
by Your sweetest dream
Summary: Hermione finds herself wondering who the true Severus Snape is. She explores in her animagus form, but is shocked when Snape asks her to become his familiar. Will she be able to keep up the pretext and live a double life?
1. The Cat Arrives

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, the original Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling (although I'm a bit miffed at the lady for killing off Severus Snape).**

**Thanks to the all-amazing Severus' Malfoy Maiden, her beta'ing keeps my writing sane so that I don't go off on random tangents!**

The adrenaline beat through Hermione's veins. She always felt this way when she was making a potion in Professor Snape's class. Being fully aware of Snape's strict demeanor, she always vowed to never make a mistake. He would hover behind her cauldron and it would take all of her self-control not to shake and make a crucial mistake. As time passed, however, she began to learn that there were much worse things in the world than an intimidating professor.

And that was the first step. Her fear at his presence declined and she began to notice the smaller intricacies behind his tough façade. The way his mouth twitched slightly when someone cracked a joke and was unaware of him listening, the manner in which his shoulders hunched when someone decided to stand up to him by telling him what a bastard he truly was. She observed the wave of emotions that would pass through his eyes before he quickly hid his true feelings with his ever present scowl. It was through her scrutiny that she finally realized that the Professor Snape she thought she knew was a complete and total lie. The mask he constantly wore was not his true self, but only what he used to hide said self.

Hermione realized she suddenly had a desire to know the true Professor Snape. Through this desire, she began to see little bits of his personality when she looked beyond the façade he presented. She saw the caring touch he bestowed on the ingredients of his potions, the languorous way he stirred his concoction. As her observations increased, she began to notice his slender, yet strong, hands. She realized that his hair was oily not from a lack of washing, but rather from the constant overexposure to potion fumes.

She had begun to obsess over knowing the true Snape, and, as any Gryffindor could account, when Hermione Granger set her mind to something, there was no stopping her. She began to feel nervous for a completely different reason when he stood behind her, observing her potion-making. She could feel a bit of the heat emanating from his body and it furthered her understanding of the fact that there was oh-so-much-more to Snape than she might ever understand… but she as sure as hell was going to try and find it all out.

At the beginning of 7th year, Hermione was announced to the school as the Head Girl. Obviously, no one was surprised, but all were happy for her (and rather hoped she wouldn't take the position too seriously). Hermione got special privileges with her new role. She had a room all to herself that could connect to the other Common Rooms, but she also had new responsibilities, such as patrolling the corridors, and being on-call for any crying girl that wanted her listening ear.

One night, she decided she would prowl around the dungeons during her nightly patrol. She looked down corridors and tried to figure out where Professor Snape might live. She knew he stayed in the dungeons, but was not exactly sure where. Once she passed the Potions room, she realized it would look strange for her to be wandering there alone, thankfully, she had an easy solution (even if it was illegal).

She had learned how to become an Animagus back in the fifth year. After a few years, she figured she would register, but at the present time, she knew it could be convenient to be unknown in her animal form. She felt herself morph into a small kitten. She was the same age as a cat as she was human, so in cat years, she was about 3 1/2.

She began stalking through the halls, trying to find where an entrance might be hidden. Soon, she came across a picture with a man who sat at a table, looking forlornly out of a window. Somehow, Hermione just knew this was the portrait that led into his chambers. The picture fit his personality too perfectly. She suddenly realized the foolish thought on her part. Yes, she might have managed to figure out where his rooms were located, but she had absolutely no chance of getting in to them.

Someone must have been looking out for her; the door creaked open and Hermione glimpsed the train of Snape's sweeping, black robes. Of course, maybe whoever was looking out for Hermione was really just spiting her, as Snape directly continued to step on her tail.

"Meeee…..OWWWWW!"

"Gahh!" Snape jumped at Hermione's high-pitched screech of pain.

"Oh, insufferable cat, shouldn't you know to move out of the way of my feet?" His harsh tone was countered when Hermione felt Snape pick her up off the ground as his gentle fingers prodded her tail.

"Hmm, your tail seems to have a fracture. I'll fix you up inside. I was going to go try and catch some unsuspecting student out of their dorms, but I'm not really in the mood anyway."

As Snape walked into his rooms, Hermione noticed all the furniture and decoration. It was not exactly what she would have expected from him. The room itself was a bit Spartan, but it felt warm and cozy thanks to the roaring fire and big black couch. There were two deep green sitting chairs. What drew Hermione's eye most, however, was the multitude of books. He had bookshelves filled with everything imaginable. It took all of Hermione's self-control not to jump from Snape's arms and browse through his collection. Instead, she satisfied herself with cuddling closer to his chest and breathing in his smell of spices and potions.

"You know, kitty, you're probably the only female comfortable with being close to me."

Hermione looked up at Snape's face, seeing his brokenness with the pain of solitude displayed clearly. She butted her head against his chest, hoping to convey that he deserved someone who would love and care for him.

"I think I need to give you a name. If you're going to stay with me, which I rather hope you will, I'm not going to look completely foolish by acting like a young girl and calling you 'kitty'". I shall name you… Suplina."

Hermione smiled at her new name, she was starting to realize that being Snape's pet would help her learn more about the man behind the mask.

He fixed her tail with a few muttered incantations and then got her a glass of milk. Hermione sipped it gratefully.

"Do you want to stay in my company, Suplina? I could really use someone to remain with me at night. I used to be really good at hiding my loneliness with a snarky, standoffish personality; my whole demeanor demanded respect. And yet, recently, I've noticed that while I command most people's respect, or at least their fear, in the end, I'm still the one that's alone. I could definitely use someone who desires my presence. And even more so, I must be going insane from the loneliness, I am spilling my troubles to a _cat_! I'm clearing going off the deep end. But despite all this, what do you think Suplina, will you be my familiar?

Hermione, trying to keep her heart from breaking for the lonely professor in front of her, butted her head against his hand. She knew becoming Snape's "familiar" could be very difficult; she would have to plan all of her actions carefully, as well as watch everything she said and did very cautiously.

Even with all the difficulties, and even possibly regret, Hermione just knew that her efforts would be worth it. Professor Snape obviously needed a friend, and she felt that she could provide that through her animal form.

She climbed into the Professor's lap and looked at the Potions essays he was reading. The poor third year who wrote the essay would be depressed tomorrow when he saw all the red marks that graced every page. Hermione felt all the stress of the day catch up with her and she fell asleep in the infamous Professor Snape's lap, with his hand lightly caressing her fur.

**If Professor Snape seems out of character, keep in mind that through all of the Harry Potter series, we see Snape from the point of view of someone who basically despises the man. Also, I'm trying to have him remove his mask toward Suplina/Hermione. I have other chapters written, so don't worry, this won't be one of those stories that is started and then just dropped. **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	2. The Morning After

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters; the original Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling (although I'm a bit miffed at the lady for killing off Severus Snape).**

**Infinite thanks go to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her incredible advice and editing; seriously everyone, without her help, this story would barely be coherent!**

**Background: This story takes place in the trio's seventh year. This story does not follow certain events in the 6****th**** and 7****th**** book. While some of it is used, events such as Dumbledore's death and Snape's false conversion to the Death Eaters do not take place. The War is still going on and Snape is still a double agent. If you have any other questions about background, feel free to ask in a review and I'll answer them!**

Hermione woke with a start. As the previous day's events came flooding back to her, she realized that she was no longer in Professor Snape's lap. She looked around (thank goodness for a cat's amazing night vision) and saw that she was in bed with him. Wow, that sentence would sound weird to anyone who didn't know the situation. She giggled quietly to herself, imagining Ron and Harry's reactions if they heard it.

Thankfully, Snape had the equivalent of a muggle-clock by his bed. 5:30 am. Hermione knew she needed to get back to her own rooms. If she didn't, Snape was sure to figure out that something was strange with his familiar. She snuck out of the bed, taking one last glance at the peacefully-sleeping figure beside her.

She returned to her room, changed back into her human form, and collapsed into bed hoping to sleep for an hour more. Daylight came too soon and Hermione had to dress quickly so as not to be late to the staff meeting that the Head Boy and Head Girl were required to attend. These meetings usually consisted of Dumbledore making all kinds of jokes and trying to inquire as to everyone's personal lives. She knew that Harry idolized Dumbledore, and she respected him as a wizard, but sometimes she thought he was a bit kooky.

Today, she felt absolutely dead as she stumbled into the meeting.

"Hermione dear, were you up late? You look exhausted," McGonagall always inquired after Hermione's well-being; she was a sort of mother figure to Hermione at Hogwarts.

"Yes Professor, I was patrolling last night and didn't sleep well." She made sure to avert her eyes from the black-clad figure reclining in the corner chair. So, it surprised her when his deep voice called her attention to him,

"Perhaps, if you were not such an overachiever and kept your essays to the proper length, both you and I would get more sleep."

"Now Severus, we all know what fine work Hermione does, there's no questioning her intelligence. Don't chastise her just because you're tired. What happened to you anyway to make you so grumpy and change your normal oh-so-sunny disposition?" McGonagall scolded and teased Snape at the same time.

"None of your business," Hermione saw a quick flash of pain in Snape's eyes. She recognized it as a look of rejection just before he turned and hid his face from her watchful eye. All of a sudden, it dawned on her; Snape was hurt that his familiar wasn't there with him in the morning. She wondered how many people had entered his life only to betray him. Hermione so badly wanted to tell Snape that Suplina wasn't betraying him, she just had a double life that she needed to continue living. Obviously, she didn't act on this desire; she just hoped Snape would be able to wait until tonight for her return.

As Dumbledore cleared his throat, Hermione stopped her train of thought and listened.

"Last night, I had a wondrous idea!"

"Oh no," Hermione heard Snape mumble and she had to agree. Dumbledore's late night ideas were usually highly embarrassing and not fun at all. This one was no exception:

"I want to have a formal ball for Halloween. Instead of having all the students fret over finding dates, I'm going to have a charmed cauldron pick people to go together. This will forge school, rather than just House, unity. Everyone can make new friends, and who knows, maybe love will blossom."

"Wonderful, more love blossoming. Albus, you realize, surely, that this will just lead to more trouble for all of us? We'll have to patrol more and pull hormonal, lusty teenagers out of bushes," Snape sneered.

"Oh no you won't Severus, you see, teachers will be involved in this date selection process as well," Dumbledore seemed so excited about his idea that Hermione could see his eyes gleaming.

"You cannot be serious," Severus drawled, "I think we all know each other plenty well. If any relationships were to form, it would've happened at least five years ago."

"Of course, Severus, I know that. And for that exact reason, all of our names will be put in with the students'. Your date could be a teacher or any of your students." Severus' face, along with all the other faces in the room had paled slightly, and they were all shocked, to say the least.

"Um, Albus, are you sure this is a wise idea, per say? We try not to encourage teacher-student relationships and this seems to be a bit counter-productive to that end."

"I thought about that Minerva, but then I realized that in our efforts to keep everything platonic, we've distanced ourselves from the students too much. I think that some of my best memories as Headmaster have been from getting to know the students here on more than just a scholastic level. This date situation doesn't have to be romantic, rather, use it as an opportunity to learn about the person behind the student who sits in your class every week. You will have to lead the way; however, it is very likely that whoever gets assigned to you will feel awkward and uncomfortable with the situation. If you let them see that you want to spend a nice evening getting to know them, they should open up and you will find that your students can be very enjoyable."

"There is no way in hell that I would enjoy extra time with my students. Having to chaperone the dance is bad enough Albus, why must you insist that I try and enjoy myself?"

"Severus, I'm making this mandatory, you might not like it and it might be your vision of a nightmare, but if you want to keep your job, then you'd better comply. And think wisely before making the evening simply dreadful for whoever is your date. At least try and make an effort for whoever it is that you go with, at least let them have a good time."

"Sometimes, Albus, I really despise you."

Albus just looked at Snape with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione thought it looked like he was saying, 'we'll just see how long you say that…'

Hermione walked into Potions that day, unsure of what would happen. Professor Snape had seemed rather surly that morning, and she worried that his attitude would worsen.

Walking in with Harry, Ron had opted not to continue with Potions, she glanced quickly around and ascertained that Snape was not yet in the room. She sat quietly, as did Harry as she had already warned him about Snape's mood.

With a bang, the door flew open and Snape strode in with his robes billowing behind him.

"Once again, I will have to watch all of you students who are supposedly at the top of your class suffer through what should be relatively easy potions. Unfortunately, this potion can have ill effects if done wrong. So," Snape looked sharply at Harry, "be careful and FOLLOW directions."

They all set to work, gathering the supplies they needed and began chopping the ingredients. Hermione worked diligently, but had a nagging feeling that she was doing something wrong.

Suddenly, her potion began making an awful screeching sound, "Uh, Professor?"

She felt herself be pushed to the ground as a loud boom echoed within the dungeon walls. As the smoke cleared, Hermione opened her eyes to see Snape lying on top of her. The back of his robes were burned and as he opened his eyes, he scathingly told her, "Detention Granger, apparently your insufferable knowledge has failed you. You nearly succeeded in blowing yourself up."

Hermione couldn't even feel offended by his scolding; she knew what the potion would have done to her if Snape hadn't knocked her down. He had saved her life.

"Thank you Professor, would you like me to be here at 7?"

Snape looked at her skeptically, obviously surprised that she had thanked him after he had assigned her a detention, "That would be acceptable." He then managed to gracefully remove himself from her person (at which point, Hermione realized she missed the warmth his body provided). Hermione got up as well and looked around to see most of the classroom covered in black soot.

"Oh joy, tonight's bound to be fun," she mumbled. She saw Snape's mouth turn up just slightly and shuddered as she thought of the punishments he was sure to cook up.

Of course, Harry thought this was one of the funniest things that had ever happened.

"Hermione, you're the perfect one, I think that was your first mistake ever. Knowing you, your first mistake would be something huge that would break records," he told her as he brushed the soot off of his robes.

"Hardy har har… very funny. Now I have to spend the night with Snape when I really need to be spending the time finishing my essay for Transfiguration."

"I know you finished that essay a week ago Hermione. I'm sure it's perfect, don't freak out."

"Thanks, but it still worries me."

Hermione went back to her rooms and finished her homework, wondering what would come that night when she was with Snape, in her student form _and _in her animagus form.


	3. Detentions and Declarations

**Once again, J.K. Rowling gets the props for the original plot. I just enjoy creating my own fantasy Harry Potter world in which Snape is alive and in love.**

"Professor?" Hermione gently knocked on the door of the Potions classroom.

"Enter." Hermione stepped in cautiously, wondering if Snape's mood had improved at all.

"Good, you're on time."

"Yes sir."

"Due to your carelessness in class today, you endangered your classmates, yourself, and my own well being."

Hermione, feeling chastised, replied, "I understand, Professor, and I'm willing to take whatever punishment you deem necessary."

She glanced up and noticed Snape regarding her curiously, "You truly mean that, don't you?"

"Yes sir."

"So the infamous know-it-all made a mistake and is admitting it freely?"

"With all due respect sir, I am not the same girl as the one who came to Hogwarts as a First Year. I understand that there is much I don't know."

"Perhaps you have. In that case, Miss Granger, you will assist me in updating the medicinal potions that Madame Pomfrey needs. I believe you know how to make them all, but I'll keep an eye on you so that I can make sure you don't almost kill us all again," from the slight smirk on his face, Hermione had the feeling that Snape found great amusement from her mistake.

"That sounds good. Where would you like me to set up?"

"Let's go in my private lab, it is of better quality and has more space and supplies."

"Yes… yes, sir," Hermione couldn't believe that Snape was actually going to let her work in his personal lab.

He walked away from her and she felt confused, was she supposed to follow him?

"Are you going to stare at my back all day or are you going to come?" Snape looked back scathingly.

"I'm coming sir."

He made no response and simply glided toward a door that Hermione had never really thought about before. She realized that it must lead to his private labs.

"If you tell anyone what this door leads to, you will very much regret the day your owl came to tell you you're a witch."

"I understand sir, I'll tell no one."

"First you're going to make a pepper-up potion, do you know the ingredients and process for making that?"

"Yes sir, you taught us that one in Second Year."

"As I'm aware," he stated curtly.

They worked quietly, Hermione on the pepper-up potion and Snape on what Hermione quickly deduced to be a fever-reducer. It surprised her how easy it was to work side-by-side with Snape. While she couldn't help but be fascinated by him, she never held any romanticized notions about his character or person. She was perfectly aware of his easily provoked temper, his tendency towards cruelty, and his overall snarkiness. Even with her interest in him, she knew better than to desire extra time with him (as a student, at least, her animagus form was a different thing altogether, in Hermione's mind). Surprisingly though, Snape's presence was calming and she found it pleasant to silently brew together.

Eventually, Hermione finished her potion and Snape told her to move on to a coughing potion. She looked over and recognized Snape's new potion as one for hangovers.

"Madam Pomfrey needs that?"

"Needs what?"

"A cure for hangovers. I doubt any students would actually confess to having a hangover for obvious reasons."

"Well deduced, Miss Granger, however, you are the only one making the medicinal potions for Madame Pomfrey."

"Oh." Hermione felt rather stupid once she realized what he was implying. She felt like a small, ignorant girl around him. He'd seen so much horror and pain; his life made hers seem like a fairytale with adventures that were filled with catching butterflies in flowery fields. They were quiet for a while longer before Hermione decided to break the awkward silence.

"Professor?"

"Yes Miss Granger?"

"If this is too personal a question, which it might be, feel free not to answer, but, um, I was just wondering…"

"Would you mind getting to the question Miss Granger? I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be direct."

"Yes, of course," Hermione decided to just spit it out, "what is it like for you, having to live a double life, constantly lying to You-Know-Who, but telling enough of the truth so that he won't suspect you?"

Snape regarded her skeptically, Hermione was surprised he hadn't flat out refused to answer, "Well, how do you know I'm on your side? What if I was secretly working with the Dark Lord and lying to Dumbledore?"

Hermione glanced at him and saw a carefully concealed glimpse of emotion flash through Snape's eyes. Hermione suspected that her answer meant more to Snape than he would care to admit.

"Well, I guess it's entirely feasible that you are deceiving us all, you're a good enough wizard and Occlumens to accomplish it, not to mention your ability to hide your emotions. I trust you, though; just based off of your seemingly engrained desire to protect your students, for example, when you shielded me from Lupin as a werewolf, I can just sense that you're on our side. I would trust you with my life any day."

Hermione watched as Snape obviously struggled to keep his ever present mask working. She noticed his eyes moisten slightly, a quick bob of his Adam's apple, and a miniscule softening of his eyes and scowl before it all quickly transformed back into its composed, emotionless façade.

"Thank you, that… means a lot to me."

"It's simply the truth sir."

"Well, in that case, I guess I should answer your question. Yes, it's hard to lead a double life. There's a reason I'm making this hangover potion… and we'll leave it at that."

"I'm sorry for what you have to endure sir, but thank you. I'm sure your work goes without gratitude most of the time."

"That is true; I'm typically despised by the Gryffindor-ruled Order and most of the Death Eaters are in for their personal well-being, and as I am high in the ranks, I am commonly held in contempt."

"That's unfair to you, especially within the Order. You are the most important person in our struggle."

"That would be debatable, especially with the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-A-Pain-In-The-Arse", he commented derisively.

Hermione giggled at the nickname, "Harry was thrown into the job the night Voldemort tried to kill him. He's been doing his best ever since, and I'm sure it will come down to him eventually, but whatever happens, none of it would've been possible without your information and help."

"Interesting. I would've thought you would worship Harry just as much, if not more, than everyone else seems to."

"Believe me, I've known Harry since first coming to Hogwarts. I've known him as the scared boy who didn't even know there was the possibility of an escape from his abusive relatives. I've seen the fear about what he has to do, the same fear that he tries to hide from others. I've tried to set an example for him and help him think through his decisions, but more often than not, my words are ignored and he reacts without thought. No, I've seen too much to consider him a savior, to me he's just another boy."

"Hm, that's an interesting perspective."

They both fell silent, wrapped in their own thoughts. Hermione pondered their conversation. Not once was Snape rude or condescending, but rather, he listened and took her words seriously. He had opened up some too, albeit minimally, but Hermione had the feeling that he might need someone to vent to. That was one more reason she needed to keep coming back as Suplina.

As Hermione continued working, she reached a step where her potion was supposed to sit for thirty minutes. She tried occupying herself with reading ahead in the instructions, but, as she knew the potion by heart, found that it most definitely would not occupy a half hour.

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Once again, feel free not to answer, but how did you learn Occlumency and Legilimency?"

"I taught myself," something in his tone warned Hermione not to ask why he would've felt the need to learn it.

"Really? You can teach yourself? How would I go about that?"

"You would need someone to test if you were actually blocking out your mind. Were you planning on trying to learn?"

"Yes, I'm not so interested in Legilimency, but I feel that Occlumency could save the Order in the case that I got captured."

"That's probably a good idea. I've always questioned Dumbledore's reasoning in only having Potter learn. Granted, the Dark Lord had direct access to his mind, but all of you are at risk. You tend to wear your thoughts on your sleeve."

"Am I really that transparent?"

"In a word, yes."

"So, to effectively learn to Occlude my mind, I'm going to have to have someone try to break into my mind's barriers?"

"Yes, and for the sake of my own well-being, I will assist with that."

"Oh sir, I couldn't ask you to sacrifice your free time."

"Just make sure it's not in vain."

"I won't sir, I will work very hard and do all that you ask of me."

"Good, come back here at 7 sharp tomorrow night. You might want to bring some type of sugary treat, it's common to pass out during the first few tries."

"Will do, thank you Professor."

They both went back to working on their individual potions. After Hermione finished hers, Snape excused her to go to bed. He had stiffened significantly since their conversation, Hermione worried that he suddenly realized how much of his personal feelings, while still only scratching the surface, he had revealed. He closed himself up to her, and she couldn't bear the thought that he regretted his decision to be truthful and open.

Hermione ran up to her corridors (after her first few years at Hogwarts, Hermione realized that if she wanted to work off all the scrumptious meals the house elves made, she should run and find ways to exercise as much as possible) until she reached her room. After checking in with Draco (who, to her initial chagrin, had been named Head Boy and thus had adjoining rooms with hers), she hurried to finish all of her homework. At about 10:30, she went to help patrol the corridors. She did this for about half an hour before discreetly morphing into her animagus form.

She was ready to see Snape as Suplina.

She found that she was able to enter his rooms with no problem; he had clearly changed his wards to admit her. She looked around and spotted him sitting gloomily in front of the fire, nursing a brandy. She jumped over and meowed loudly.

"Suplina! You came back, I thought you'd left me for someone else." Hermione butted her head against his hand, looking at him to try and communicate how stupid that thought was.

"I know, I know. I should've believed in you, but I have trust issues."

Hermione tried to display her trustworthiness by gently nuzzling his neck.

"Thanks Suplina. Oh, I almost forgot, I've thought of a spell that will enable you to speak to me, in my mind, I'll hear your voice." Hermione cocked her head at him, she hoped she'd be able to conceal the sound of her voice well enough to trick him.

"_Felinial Hablaca_"

Hermione could feel herself connected to the man who sat across from her. He couldn't read her mind and she couldn't read his, but if she wanted to tell him something, it would be no problem to pass a thought along the connection line. She decided to test it, and prayed Snape wouldn't instantly figure out who she was.

"Master?"

"Hello Suplina," it was as if Snape had whispered in her ear, except this was in her brain. She could hear the words as if they were her own thoughts, except in Snape's voice.

"Well, this is nice, I can understand when you talk to me, but it was frustrating not being able to respond."

"As I can imagine. Would you like to explain why you skipped out so quickly this morning? One would think we'd had a drunken one-night stand."

Hermione had to stifle a laugh at the comparison. Thank Merlin she was good at thinking on her feet and could come up with a plausible excuse for why she would skip out.

"I have certain duties that need to be attended to, not to mention visiting with my various suitors."

"Oh, you have suitors do you? Well you are a rather pretty cat, it makes sense. Should I meet any of these suitors?"

"No, at the moment, I've been turning them all away. They're just looking for a good lay, but I want a good, reliable tabby to conceive my kittens. Genetics are everything, you know."

She watched as Snape choked slightly on his drink, "How are you so aware of common terms?"

"I listen to all you humans talk, of course it's not difficult to pick it up."

"I see, interesting."

"Well, anyway, how was your day?"

"Long. If you hadn't come when you did, I probably would've drunk myself into a stupor and then desperately needed a hangover potion to survive the morning."

Hermione felt her heart pang painfully for this lonely man who so obviously needed someone to help him channel his sorrows, "Well, I came at a good time then, didn't I?"

"Very."

"Didn't anything even remotely positive happen today?" Hermione hoped her conversations with him earlier had at least been a bit enjoyable.

"I found out all Gryffindors aren't as hopelessly biased and close-minded as I'd previously thought."

"Really? How did that come about?"

"I was giving a Seventh Year named Hermione Granger a detention and she told me that she trusted me and thought I am extremely valuable to the war effort."

"As I, I mean she, should. I know of Hermione, her familiar Crookshanks is one of my suitors."

"That cat's hair is just as uncontrollable as Miss Granger's."

Hey! Hermione wanted to protest, but realized that would look awfully suspicious, "That is true; however, I don't mind it."

"Don't get me wrong, I rather like the bushy hair, I just believe that it can't be tamed."

Had Snape just complimented her hair? Wonders never ceased. Granted, Hermione could pretty much guarantee he would never knowingly repeat the sentiments to her face, but it was still a shock.

"Suplina? You there?"

"Oh yes, I was just… thinking."

"Let me tell you all about how infuriating Dumbledore is."

"What did he do now?" Hermione tried to keep her voice innocent, even though she knew very well what Snape was upset about. Snape proceeded to tell her about Dumbledore's plans for the ball and how they would all be paired with unexpected dates.

"Oh my, that is quite a plan," Hermione suddenly had a thought that she couldn't resist asking, "Is there anyone you'd want to go with?"

"Most definitely not. This is just Dumbledore's infantile plan to get a date with McGonagall."

After talking a while longer, Hermione once again curled up at Snape's side and felt him pet her fur as she drifted off to sleep. Their deep breaths combined as the night edged on and they both rested simultaneously in the wonderful abode of peaceful sleep.

**Thank you all for your input so far. I know this chapter's not the most interesting chapter, it's more of a filler, so I apologize about that. **

**I'm hoping to get the next chapter up in the next few days as I'm going out of town Wednesday night. If it's not up, then it'll be two weeks before I can get access to fanfiction. I'll still handwrite the chapters though, so hopefully I'll have plenty of new chapters once I come back! Thanks for reading, I love reviews!**


	4. Magical Harmony

**Thanks for all the reviews! I love getting feedback from my readers!**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a literary genius, and I am simply using her characters and my ideas to mesh together a (hopefully) enjoyable read. **

**All thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her wonderful beta-ing. Her edits make this story actually readable! **

Once again, Hermione snuck back into her rooms in the wee hours of the morning. She caught a few more hours of sleep before going into the Heads' common room area that she shared with Draco.

"Granger."

"Draco."

"So, what about Dumbledore's new plan for the Ball?"

Hermione snorted, "It's such a Dumbledore type of idea, it doesn't even surprise me."

"I agree, as much as it pains me to think so, you're right."

"Stranger things have happened."

"True, which brings me back to Dumbledore's inane idea. What's up with pairing teachers and students?

"I have absolutely no idea. I personally have the deepest sympathies for whatever guy gets placed with Professor Trelawney."

"Hah! As long as it isn't me, I believe I'll find great amusement from whoever's in that position."

Hermione laughed along with him as they both pictured Trelawney accompanying one of the students to the dance. While Hermione was initially chagrined that Draco was the other Head, they had since established a delicate friendship. Hermione assumed that living in such close quarters would do that to two people. It helped that Draco had switched to the side of the light after Voldemort had cruelly murdered his mother while his father looked aside. He now was a part of the Order and had passed along everything he knew about the Death Eaters to them.

After attending a relatively uneventful staff meeting, Hermione went back to her room. As Head Girl, she had access to every house's common room. There were four doors in her and Draco's common room and she took the red and gold door and stepped into Gryffindors' common room.

"Hermione!" Neville was the first to see her and had shouted out a greeting.

"Hello Neville, how are you doing?" Hermione was so impressed at how Neville's confidence had risen in the last few years. With the war continually growing more intense, Hermione was sure that he would be an irreplaceable force.

"Oh, I'm doing well. How's it being Head Girl?"

"It's great, thank you. I never knew how much work it would be though!"

"Yes, I've heard it's quite a bit, but we all know you can do it."

"Thanks Neville, you're so sweet," Hermione kissed his cheek and watched him reddened.

Just then, she noticed Harry and Ron bumbling down the stairs, both yawning and stretching. Their eyes were only half open and Hermione wondered how they avoided tripping.

"You guys ready for breakfast?"

"Yes," they responded in unison. Hermione knew that she wouldn't be getting any more words from them until they were both fed. They walked down together only to stop in surprise, along with everyone else, at the large object dominating the center of Great Hall.

Smack dab in the center was a large stone goblet about three meters high.

"That must be the goblet Dumbledore mentioned would pick our dates," Hermione whispered.

They slowly separated to their House tables, everyone still eyeing the massive object with apprehension.

Dumbledore stood up, "I can see that all of you have noticed what I like to call our Magical Harmony. You see, all of you will fill out a survey about yourself and put it in here. The cup will match you with someone compatible, with whom, you will spend a pleasant evening. And for those of you pranksters out there, don't even consider lying. The cup will know, and there will be consequences." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Hermione had to question what types of punishment would make him so bloody excited.

Their meal popped up, and with it, a packet of questions for each person. Everyone pulled out a quill and began answering the questions. Hermione looked at her sheet:

What is your greatest hobby?

-_Reading_

Where do you spend most of your time?

-_In classes and the library_

What do you look for in a companion?

-_Intelligence, maturity, loyalty, the ability to enjoy life, respect for me and others, a sense of humor, and the good sense to know when to leave me alone._

How would you describe yourself?

-_Smart, hard-working, mature, sometimes bossy, loyal, enjoyable to be around, compassionate, and gracious._

Would you rather spend your time with a loved one at a quiet dinner place, at the beach on a picnic, or at a busy, loud party?

-_On the beach with a picnic_

What is your dream job?

-_Teaching Charms at Hogwarts._

Are there any serious deal-breakers for you?

-_Disloyalty_

Hermione finished her form and joined the line to put it in the goblet. She felt her anxiety rise as she wondered with whom she would be paired.

She rushed out of the hall into her first class, Transfiguration. She tried to ignore the questions churning rapidly in her mind.

'Will this actually work?' 'What if my person doesn't actually like me?' 'What if the night's awful?'

Once Professor McGonagall began talking, Hermione's fears slowly dissipated, or at least were pushed to the back of her mind as she focused on the professor's invigorating lesson.

The rest of the day passed quickly enough and soon it was time for her first Occlumency lesson with Professor Snape. Hermione spent a little extra time on her appearance; she wanted to appear mature and responsible. She did not want Snape to regret his decision to help assist in her learning. She hoped her more mature appearance would show him that his lessons would not be in vain.

She pulled her hair into a loose twist at the back of her head and dabbed on a little mascara and blush. She realized it was getting close to 7, so she jogged to Snape's quarters to make sure she wouldn't be late. The exertion left her eyes bright and added a little extra color to her cheeks, of course that wouldn't explain Snape's slight hesitation when he opened the door, now would it?

"Professor Snape."

"Good evening Miss Granger, you may enter."

"Yes sir."

"Occlumency is an intrinsic art. It delves into the deepest part of one's soul. Our mind is where our memories, feelings, and intentions are held safe and secure," Snape's deep voice captivated Hermione, just as his initial lesson during her first year had, "Learning to Occlude your mind is not only beneficial, but it ensures your privacy. Legilimency, while useful in rare circumstances, is a violation of a wizard's rights; the mind should always be a place where you can store your secrets and desires; things that no one else should know. The necessity of Occlumency is a sad fact of life, but mastering it, while difficult, is one of the most advantageous successes you will ever accomplish."

Hermione was silent as she absorbed his intense words; he made her feel enthralled and deeply motivated to work her hardest to, as he said, master the art of Occlumency.

"Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes Professor."

"Before I begin, I want you to clear your mind of all emotions and thoughts, try to keep an empty slate." Hermione tried to do as he said, but it was easier said than done.

"Are you having trouble?"

"How could you tell?"

"The squinted, constipated look on your face gave me a clue."

Hermione looked at her Professor in shock before giggling slightly, "I guess that would tip you off, huh?"

"Okay, we'll work on the clearing your mind part, for now, we'll have you focus on just one thing," he walked towards her and put his hands on her shoulders, "focus on my nose."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I know my nose is larger than average, and I'm sure you've heard the jokes about it. I want you to focus on my nose and only on my nose. When I invade your mind, all I want to see is my nose. Once you feel me seeing my own nose in your mind, try to push me out."

"Okay," Hermione focused on his nose, and tried hard not to have her mind wander anywhere else. In truth, she thought his nose looked regal, she never joined others in teasing it; she rather liked how it looked on him.

"_Legilimens_"

Hermione felt Snape's presence in her mind. She had the distinct feeling that should he want to, he could easily probe other areas of her mind, but was starting out easily. She tried to push against him; she could feel his presence in her mind, but actually pushing him out was more difficult than she expected. It wasn't like pushing a box on the ground, there was nothing of substance to actually apply the force to. She focused and tried anyway, she pushed against this ghostly intruder in her thoughts. She cleared her mind of most thoughts, and slowly tried to retract any thoughts from where she could sense him.

Eventually, she felt him pull out and she fell against the ground, breathing deeply as if she had just ran around the castle.

"Well done Miss Granger, you did not completely expel me from your mind; however, you did manage to control what I was able to see and pushed me farther away from your active consciousness. That was a satisfactory first start, the fact that you didn't faint also gives me hope for your eventual success."

He conjured a glass of water which Hermione drank gratefully. As her breathing calmed, she looked up at Snape and found him looking at her seriously, "Unfortunately, Miss Granger, that was just the beginning. I wanted you to first become accustomed to the feel of someone inside your mind. Should Death Eaters try to invade your thoughts, they will not remain on the outside where your conscious thoughts are, they will delve into your memories. This is harder to repel and can also be distressing as you will see what memories they look at. It becomes difficult to keep control of your emotions when they look into your private life. I'm going to search a little more this time; I will still go slowly, so it will give you time if there is a memory you absolutely do not want me to see, I believe you'll be able to at least mask it. Try to completely get me out of your mind."

"Yes sir." Hermione once again tried to clear her mind and staunch the nervousness that was threatening to consume her mind; knowing that her professor was about to be privy to her every thought and desire.

"_Legilimens_," Hermione heard for the second time that night.

She saw herself receiving an owl when she was eleven; the fear and uncertainty on her parents' faces as a wizard from the Ministry of Magic explained everything to the family. She tried to push Snape out, but found that it was more difficult, as predicted, than when he just listened to her conscious thoughts.

_Hermione was crying in a bathroom stall all alone, she would never have friends. She wanted so badly to fit into the wizard world, why didn't people accept her? Suddenly, her scream pierced through the air as a troll lumbered near and prepared to bludgeon her. Her camaraderie with Harry and Ron was solid after the troll incident and Snape's scolding. _

_Harry was discussing his suspicions about Professor Snape and then Hermione was watching the Quidditch pitch as Harry bucked up and down on his broom. She stalked underneath the bleachers and lit Professor Snape's robes on fire. _

Hermione struggled, her breathing increasing once again, as Snape passed through all of her memories. She pushed and pushed; slowly, she began to feel a grip on her mind and felt that she could at least change the scene.

_Snape's voice drawled on as he told them what to expect from the Potion's class: "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making, as there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death." As Snape questioned Harry, Hermione stood from her seat, waving her hand in the air. She felt disappointed and let down that the Potions Professor didn't indulge her intelligence as all the other professors had; she simply wanted to prove herself in the magical world. _

With one last final exertion, Hermione pushed against Snape's invasion and finally succeeded; for one blissful moment, her mind was free of anyone else, and then everything went black.

Hermione awoke and slowly opened her eyes only to find the face of her Potions Professor merely inches from her own.

"Miss Granger," his deep, velvety voice murmured, "eat this."

He held out a small piece of chocolate, which Hermione promptly ate.

"Chocolate, professor?"

"Sometimes potions are not the best solution. Chocolate will bring you back a bit of your energy and the sugar will give you the boost that you need to help you until you go back to your rooms."

"Thank you sir," Hermione was grateful for the chocolate; she could already feel it restoring a bit of her energy. Suddenly though, she started to feel the mal effects of fainting: queasiness. She glanced around her worriedly; wizards didn't typically keep trashcans nearby as there was always _Evanesco_ to clear away trash.

"Uh oh," Hermione got up to rush off, to where she didn't know, but she did not want Professor Snape witnessing her vomit. She took about one step before faltering. Snape caught her in his arms. Hermione looked up into his concerned eyes, only to feel her dinner come back to her as she promptly regurgitated the entirety of said dinner… all over his black shoes and the train of his robe.

Hermione waited for his scorn and displeasure, instead, she heard him mutter _Evanesco _and continue helping her. He conjured a warm, wet rag and cleared off her mouth. She felt herself sag against his body as all of her energy dissipated. Even more embarrassing, her lack of energy left her emotions in a fray; she felt tears come to her eyes and she tried to hide them, but they insisted on spilling out of her eyes.

"Miss Granger, are you in pain?"

"No sir."

"They why, pray tell, are you crying?"

"I'm not crying, sir, my eyes are simply copying the clouds."

"Your eyes are copying the clouds?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright then, pretending that I actually believe that, why don't you sit down here?" Snape transfigured a chair into a comfortable couch. Hermione was tired enough so that as Snape helped her to sit, she found her head resting on his shoulder as she drifted into a comfortable sleep.

Snape sat on the couch looking curiously at the girl-turned-woman whose head rested on his shoulder. He was amazed at the trust she conveyed by falling asleep near him. From his past deeds and mistakes, few would ever be comfortable with him. This one girl was quickly changing all of his previously held beliefs about Gryffindors and even humankind itself. He felt himself hoping for the first time in a long while; perhaps his life wouldn't be completely void of meaning.

**Unfortunately for me, the puking part is inspired by my own personal experience. When I was five years old, I had to get 4 shots at once. I ended up passing out and throwing up on a nurse's shoe. Now that I'm planning on studying to be a nurse, I have a bad feeling that karma will strike!**

**I am leaving tonight on vacation and won't be able to update for two weeks, so don't fear about the lack of updates, I'll come back with a bunch of new chapters and updates will be frequent again!**

**Thanks for reading, reviews are always appreciated :)**


	5. Smelling You

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all characters, I simply enjoy changing their lives as I do not agree with all of Rowling's decisions (most importantly, her killing of the love of my life). **

**Muchas muchas muchas gracias to Severus' Malfoy Maiden, without her, this story would be incoherent and confusing!**

Hermione woke up feeling weak and drained. She looked around and didn't see the typical draperies of her room, but, instead, dark stone, cauldrons, and various Potions ingredients.

"What?" she mumbled, trying desperately to regain her grip on reality; she was having trouble recalling the events of the night before. She turned and found her head resting on a familiar black robe. She tucked her nose deep into the fabric and inhaled. The scent of cinnamon and the earthy smell of many potions embraced her nose.

"Enjoying the fragrance?" The amused voice shook her out of her observations. She looked up to see Professor Snape sitting in a chair across from her, looking rather worse for wear. Finally, the Occlumency lessons of the previous night came flooding back to her. She blushed slightly as she remembered how she had vomited, and then slept, on her Professor.

"I'm sorry sir, I have intruded on your personal space and time, I'll go now," Hermione got up to leave, but was impeded by a strong hand pushing back on her shoulder.

"Easy does it, Miss Granger," he helped her sit up and kept a hand ready to catch her should the movement become too much.

"Professor, what time is it?"

"About five in the morning."

"Oh, you should be sleeping. I'm sorry, I can't believe I've kept you awake, you shouldn't have to watch over me."

"It's no problem Miss Granger, you overexerted yourself in the first lesson. You did very well though, your body and mind will be stronger due to your efforts. It was my duty to watch you after you worked so hard."

"Thank you sir," Hermione glowed inside from Snape's praise.

Snape helped Hermione slowly sit up; she felt a slight tingly sensation in her stomach due to his touch. She quickly scolded herself and tried to ignore her body's reaction to the man's skin on hers.

"How does this feel?" Snape asked once he had Hermione in a sitting position, propped up on the pillows.

"Fine so far. I have a bit of a headache, but it's tolerable."

She watched as Snape got out of his chair and rummaged through his cabinet for a minute. He returned to her side, "Here, take this. It'll help with the pain."

Hermione felt the potion slide down her throat and experienced the effects almost immediately. It was as if someone had put a cool cloth on and around her head; it gave her incredible relief.

"Thank you sir, for everything. I think I'm well enough now to return to my rooms, and hopefully, you can get a few hours' rest."

"Very well," Snape helped Hermione to stand and kept a hand on her waist for a few moments while they both made sure she was steady on her feet.

Once he ascertained that she spoke the truth and really was fine, Snape opened the door for her and watched as she tiredly trudged down the hall. He closed the door and felt the weariness consume him. He stumbled to his bed and smiled upon spotting Suplina curled up on his pillow.

Draco Malfoy awoke to the loud pounding on the door outside the common room. He stumbled out of bed and eyed that clock that read 5:45. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he blearily opened the door.

He instantly processed the shock of red hair before recognizing the face of Ginny Weasley staring impatiently at him.

"Is Hermione here?"

"I would think so. Why, pray tell, would you come at such an ungodly hour of the morning, insisting on waking me up?"

"What? Losing out on some beauty sleep? Get over yourself, pretty boy, what I need to discuss with Hermione is serious, you can lose an hour of sleep."

Draco simply stared at Ginny as she bounced over to Hermione's door. Upon finding it locked, she began knocking, "Hermione Jane Granger, open this door right now! I have important information to tell you! You will not succeed in ignoring me! I will not go away!"

Draco watched as Ginny grew increasingly frustrated when Hermione did not answer the door. Finally, he chuckled as she took out her wand and muttered _Alohomora, _swinging the door open. When he heard her gasp, he wandered into the room, feeling curious.

"Where is she?" Ginny looked at Draco slightly accusing, but mainly curious.

"Do you think I know? I thought she was in her room this whole time."

"Hmph. Well, now she has even more explaining to do. I'll just wait here until she gets back." Ginny settled herself on the couch and looked expectantly at Draco, obviously wanting him to sit down as well, and probably entertain her, Draco thought deploringly.

After Snape had let her out the door, Hermione had walked calmly, feeling his eyes on her. As soon as she turned the corner, though, she burst into a full-out sprint while changing into Suplina. She knew if she could just make it to the door to his quarters before he was able to enter his rooms through the classroom, she had a chance at fooling him. She pushed her four legs to run as fast as possible. She burst through the bedroom door, sensing that he was right behind her. The door to the side began to creak open and she leaped, soaring through the air and hit the bed with a thump.

She had just enough time to place her head on her paws and feign sleep as Snape walked in. Through a slit in her eyes, she noticed him glance at her fondly. He crawled into the bed next to her and she slid next to him, curling up and enjoying the little sleep she would get that morning with him.

About an hour later, Hermione slipped out of the room and snuck up to her own, quickly morphing in an abandoned hallway. Instead of entering quietly and getting ready as if she had been there all night, she walked in to two inquiring sets of eyes.

"Ginny!" Hermione squeaked, but quickly controlled her voice pitch, "And Draco, what are you two doing up so early?"

"Well, Hermione," Ginny answered slowly, "I could answer that question, but instead, I think I'll ask one of my own. Why is it that you're coming into your room a little before seven in the morning?"

"Is it that late?" Hermione thought quickly, and realized the half-truth would work well enough, "Well, you know I've been working with Professor Snape and I ended up passing out. I guess I slept there for a while."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You slept with Professor Snape?"

"No, no, no. You are making this so much more twisted than it actually is. I fell asleep in Professor Snape's office because the Occlumency was too much for my mind to handle. I slept on a couch and I think Snape slept on a chair in front of me, I'm not actually positive."

"Awww, that's actually cute. He stayed with you instead of just letting you lie on the floor while he went to his own quarters to sleep. Who knew he actually had a heart?"

"Haha Ginny, very funny," Draco commented lazily, "you should know by now that Slytherins have their moments too."

"Oh, I guess, but it's pretty rare to see them."

"Well, of course, how else are Gryffindors supposed to be provoked, and it is oh-so-entertaining to watch you all get hot and fiery when you're angered over the smallest little things."

"The ongoing rivalry, it will probably never stop, huh?"

"Nope."

Hermione and Ginny went up to Hermione's room, leaving Draco to get ready. Hermione got dressed quickly while Ginny told her the 'very important news'.

"Okay, so last night, Harry and I were up in his room, and…."

Hermione cut in, "No details please, I don't need to know."

"Oh, all right, you spoil all the fun. Well, anyways, while all unspoken things were going on, I suddenly realized that Harry and I are so much better as friends. When I was younger, I think I looked up to him as a hero and an untouchable. This sounds awful, but I think the challenge of being the one to attract the attention of this unreachable person was what made me want him so much. Now that we've been together for a while, I'm not feeling any spark."

"Oh my gosh! Have you told Harry this?"

"Yes, we talked it through last night. He was a little sad, I think he felt a little more than I did, but he wouldn't have wanted me to lie about it. Plus, you know him and Ron; for a while at least, they'll be better single. Until they find the right woman, they aren't going to be happy being tied down."

"That's true. Well, I'm glad there's no tension."

"Me too. It would've been so awkward for our group if we didn't end things on good terms."

"We've been lucky with that. When Ron and I ended things it was on friendly terms as well."

"Thank goodness, with his temper, had he not wanted that too, it would've been a disaster!"

"Exactly."

The girls headed down to breakfast. They slid into the bench with Harry and Ron and all of them turned to the front as Dumbledore got out of his seat.

"Everyone, the cup has decided…"

**And I'm back from vacation! Feel lucky that the cliffie came after the vacay for you guys, my beta was not too happy that she wouldn't know what happened for over two weeks!**

**Reviews are always appreciated, it really is great to hear from my readers!**


	6. The Cup Decides

**Unfortunately, I do not own any of the Harry Potter series; I just toy with the characters to get the ending that I wanted.**

**Thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for the superman-like beta'ing!**

_Last Time:_

_The girls headed down to breakfast. They slid into the bench with Harry and Ron and all of them turned to the front as Dumbledore got out of his seat._

"_Everyone, the cup has decided…"_

Everyone waited on Dumbledore's words with anxious expectation. Hermione gave Harry a quick side-hug to show him her support. She was pretty sure he and Ginny's breakup was harder for him than he let on to Ginny.

She glanced around the room and saw everyone looking at the goblet. The expressions varied from excitement to extreme anxiety. She noticed a lot of hands shaking and lips being bitten.

After waiting for the reaction to build, Dumbledore continued, "The goblet will spit out two names at a time, I will read the two names and you will meet your partner and sit at a table together. I hope you will all keep a good attitude about this; it'll be a great opportunity to get to know your classmates and professors better."

Dumbledore had everyone stand at the back of the room. The first pair would sit at Slytherin and everyone would fill in until it was full. Then they would filter through Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and finally, the Head Table.

Dumbledore's voice rang out once again, "Let the pairing begin!"

He waved his hand and with a flash, the lights dimmed and the goblet glowed a brilliant gold and silver. With a blast that reverberated throughout the hall, two slips of paper shot out.

Dumbledore picked them up and cleared his throat, "Millicent Bulstrode and Dennis Creevy", and a few giggles escaped at the ill-matched pair. He continued, Hermione watched as he read Harry's name, "Harry Potter and Hannah Abbot", as a few cheers broke out. They sat down at the Slytherin table, Harry obviously miffed to have to eat at what he considered enemy territory. Eventually, all of Harry's friends had been paired; Ron and Pansy Parkinson, to many boos from the Slytherins, Ginny and Draco, and Neville and Luna, who got a great round of applause. Quite an uproar arose when Seamus and Dean were place together, but it quickly died down as the goblet didn't slow down for the public reaction.

Hermione kept waiting, but her name still hadn't come up. She admitted to slight disappointment when Blaise Zabini was placed with Trelawney; she was a little attracted to his bad-boy look. She had glanced over at Snape a few times and had to bit her tongue to keep from laughing. He was leaning against the wall looking so utterly bored and disinterested, one would've thought that he was observing a snail race.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were called (Snape had been right on that account, Hermione wondered if Dumbledore had charmed the goblet to do as he wished), and they filled the last spot of the Gryffindor table. Hermione looked toward the Head Table and realized she would be sitting there. All the unselected students were also looking with wonder at the table. The seats began filling up until the two open were the ones Dumbledore and McGonagall normally sat in as the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress. The two names emerged and Dumbledore read them.

"Hermione Granger," her heart sped up as she cursed Dumbledore for waiting for what seemed like years before the next name, "and… Professor Snape."

Hermione's head turned rapidly to Snape's looming figure on the wall. His scowl was still there, but he did nod in her direction as he pushed off his post and walked in his stately fashion over to the Headmaster's chair. Hermione sat next to him and felt as if she was in a position of great power. She glanced up at Snape, and based on the slight twitch of his mouth, assumed he enjoyed the spot as well.

To Hermione's extreme chagrin, Lavender was sitting next to her. Of course, she found it entertaining that her date was Colin Creevy. Lavender obviously wasn't pleased with the arrangement, based off her scowl every time she looked at her over-eager companion.

Finally, everyone was seated and Dumbledore paused for a moment to catch his breath, "well, now that we all have our dates, I would suggest you use this meal time to learn ten new things about your date. Beware, if I notice that you aren't participating, I will confront you in a public place and make sure you are thoroughly embarrassed," Dumbledore told them all with his cheeky, twinkling eyes. Hermione had no doubt of his sincerity and vowed to go along with everything he suggested.

Breakfast popped up and she grabbed a piece of toast along with a cup of tea.

"So, Professor, um, what's your favorite color?"

"Really, Miss Granger," Snape sneered, "we do not need to go along with Dumbledore's inane ideas. I won't cooperate."

"Sir, if you don't mind, I, at least, would like to follow his instructions. It's a bit of a goal of mine to avoid public humiliation."

"As you wish. Do not expect me, however, to delve into my life's story or listen to your never-ceasing chatter about your Gryffindor friends," he sneered the word 'friends' and Hermione could tell that his contempt for her friends was genuine.

"Yes sir, I understand and I'll keep the questions light and on the surface for your benefit." Hermione briefly glanced around her to where most of the couples were chattering and seemed at least somewhat happy. She suffered a twinge of envy, this could be harder than she expected, but decided she would make the best of her situation, "So, sir, what is your opinion on the uses of hollyhock in a potion that could potentially cure lycanthropy?"

Snape looked at her disdainfully, "As you very well know, Miss Granger, hollyhock would counteract all ingredients that would make transformation impossible, thus it would be a horrible addition to the potion."

Hermione smiled slightly to herself, "Of course sir, I was just making sure you were paying attention."

"Am I supposed to ask you a question now?"

"I would appreciate it."

"If you insist, fine," she watched as his face settled into a smirk and she suddenly grew nervous. He looked at her with complete disinterest and asked in his sneering tone, "Have you and Mr. Weasley done the deed?"

Hermione, having just taken a large swig of tea (thinking she would need the caffeine for this conversation), was so surprised that she managed to spit it out, onto her meal, as well as Snape's frock.

"Oh, sir, I'm sorry. Your question… took me by surprise…"

Snape silenced her with a withering glare, "_Evanesco_. Well Miss Granger, you seem to be in the habit of project things from your mouth onto my clothing."

"Yes, um, sorry again, for both times."

"Don't let it happen again."

"Yes sir," Hermione meekly responded.

The Hall was slowly clearing out, Hermione turned to see Snape getting out of his seat gracefully.

"Sir, I haven't yet figured out ten things about you."

"Well, you'd better hope Dumbledore doesn't find out then, hm? As for me, I have had enough of the questioning, you obviously aren't interested in answering and I, for one, have no interest in indulging in frivolous conversation about your uninformed ideas about potions, nor do I want to hear any about any of your scandalous activities."

Hermione looked at the man with a bit of contempt, she decided to give him one last try, "I do have your class next Professor, if you don't mind, I could walk with you to class and continue with my questioning."

"I do mind. I have to prepare in my office before your class. Use your imagination if you must, I'm sure you can figure out something about me."

With that, Snape strode purposefully out of the room and while Hermione watched him leave, she noticed Dumbledore's eyes also following him with a sad and disappointed look.

Hermione glanced at her half-eaten toast, thinking over the fruitless conversation before she left, never glancing back as her uneaten food vanished.

xxx

"Hermione!" She turned to see Ron, Harry, and Ginny running towards her.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"How can you say that? You're doomed, I'm doomed, we're all doomed," Ron dramatically told her.

"Well actually Ron, I'm not doomed, I'm with a perfectly normal date," Harry decided to butt in.

"I don't actually think Draco's that bad, so I'm not too worried. He probably wouldn't be my first choice, but I'll survive," Ginny corrected her brother as well.

"Fine, maybe you two can live, but I won't survive until the formal with Pansy. And how is Hermione supposed to not wither under Snape's constant glare?"

"Really Ron, you're overreacting. Yes, Snape isn't always the friendliest, but I will survive. You should take Dumbledore's advice and try to get to know Pansy. I'm going to try and befriend Professor Snape, and you should try to at least make an effort with Pansy."

"Why do you have to follow every teacher's orders? I don't _want _to get to know Pansy; I want to have fun with all my Gryffindor friends at the formal."

"Haven't you ever heard the adage that life isn't fair and the world doesn't revolve around you? You'd best heed them."

As Hermione turned to go to Potions, she heard Ron turn to Harry, "what's an adage?" She couldn't help but smile at his ignorance as she headed down the hallway and wondered how the date thing would change their classroom interactions. Would students treat her, or Snape, any differently? Hermione thought about Snape's strict, no funny business demeanor and realized that it was pretty unlikely that anyone would dare rebel against Snape's class structure, well, Harry would, but Hermione knew he wouldn't want to pull her into their constant battles.

Harry caught up to her and they entered with the rest of their classmates. She noticed a couple of them glancing back and forth between her and Snape. She could tell that he was noticing the glances as well, but never addressed them.

"I will be lecturing on the properties of Wimbledon wood and phosphorous roots, and how they both interact with and counteract each other.

"Miss Granger, can you tell me how these two can be used in an explosive potion?"

"Since one is phosphorous and one is wood, the wood, though not as flammable as its normal counterparts, can catch flame from the phosphorous roots. However, if added at the correct time in the correct amount, as derived from arithmantic calculations, Wimbledon wood will reduce the amount of phosphor in the roots making the potion potent, but not dangerous. Thus the explosion can be contained until needed rather than just blowing up on the person who makes the potion."

"Five points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger, for simply spitting out textbook words. I believe Muggles call that plagiarism. Have you no independent thought?"

Hermione stared at Snape in shock before what he was doing dawned on her. He felt his power and dominance over the classroom were threatened by the date situation and thus was trying to reassert himself. He had obviously decided the best way to do that would be to undermine Hermione's intelligence.

Severus had already turned away from her and was preparing to move on, but Hermione would not let him. She wasn't sure where this rebelliousness was coming from, but she just blamed her constant exposure to Gryffindor recklessness.

"Sir?"

"What now, Miss Granger?"

"I thought I should point out that I was paraphrasing the words and added my own narrative. If you must know, though, your style of teaching encourages students to spout off textbook answers. Our homework is always to read the book and write an essay on what we read. Having us do something besides reading the textbook would encourage us to come up with our own opinions." Hermione finished, feeling out of breath due to the adrenaline. She glanced around her and noticed all the students gaping at her with open mouths, obviously amazed at her audacity.

Snape stalked toward her, "Miss Granger, just to be clear, am I to understand that you are questioning my teaching ability?"

"Well sir, I didn't mean it like that…"

At this point, Snape's face was within inches of Hermione's and his voice had lowered to a dangerous, lethal timbre, "Really? Because I think you were and I don't appreciate people questioning me in my own classroom, so you can _leave_."

Hermione just stared at him incredulously, "no."

Snape's lip curled, "you dare disobey me, you insolent chit?"

"Sir, you can punish me and openly disagree with what I say, but you do not have the right to kick me out of the classroom for having an opinion contradictory to your own."

"I can and I will."

**Ahhh, cliffie… I wasn't going to end it here, but this next scene could be a chapter in itself; warning, there's some heavy stuff coming up. Hopefully it'll be up soon. Reviews are appreciated!**


	7. Emotion Magic

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series and I make no profit from this story.**

**Thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her wonderful beta'ing.**

_Last time: At this point, Snape's face was within inches of Hermione's and his voice had lowered to his dangerous, quiet tone, "Really? Because I think you were and I don't appreciate people questioning me in my own classroom, so you can leave."_

_Hermione just stared at him incredulously, "no."_

_Snape's lip curled, "you dare disobey me, you insolent chit?"_

"_Sir, you can punish me and openly disagree with what I say, but you do not have the right to kick me out of the classroom for having an opinion contradictory to your own."_

"_I can and I will."_

Hermione could feel Snape's magic surge and pulse with emotion. She knew he was a powerful and talented wizard, but the extent of his brilliance had never been made clearer to her than now. She knew that to remove her from the room by magic spawned by emotion alone, he would have to momentarily drop his cool façade. From the blatant anger on his face, she was pretty sure he was doing just that.

She tried Occlumency, hoping that if she was able to protect her mind, maybe it would protect her whole body from his magic. Her powers of Occlumency were not nearly strong enough, however, as she had only had one measly lesson. She felt herself rise off the ground and begin flying toward the door.

Snape, obviously, had underestimated Hermione's own magical prowess. When Hermione felt herself flying through the air, her feelings of powerlessness triggered memories long since repressed in her mind.

**Warning: This section contains some slightly graphic material, if that bothers you, skip to the end of the italics.**

_Her parents had invited Hermione's uncle over for dinner. She'd only met him once before, but he seemed nice and listened to her as she showed him all of her books. They had a pleasant dinner and the adults talked about different wines. The phone trilled as they were all talking and Hermione's dad got up to answer.  
_

"_Steve," Mr. Granger turned to Hermione's uncle, "I'm so sorry, but Elaine and I need to go into the office. One of our clients messed up their teeth; it's truly a dental emergency."_

"_It's no problem, do you want me to stay and watch Hermione?"_

_Her parents glanced at each other briefly, "well Steve, we don't want to inconvenience you."_

"_It's no inconvenience, I've always been fascinated by children, it'd be fun to get to spend time with Hermione."_

"_Well, in that case, thank you very much."_

"_No problem."_

_Her parents rushed out the door and Hermione turned to her Uncle Steve. His face had changed a bit, she thought._

"_Hermione, dear, why don't you show me your room?"_

"_Uncle Steve, what would we do in there? All of my toys are out here."_

"_It's a special game, I'll show you once we're up there."_

"_Um, okay," Hermione led her uncle up to her room, wondering if they were going to play hide-and-go-seek or something. Her uncle closed the door behind him._

"_Hermione, Hermione," her uncle whispered, "you're growing up so fast."_

"_Well, I guess, but I'm still only nine." _

"_You're almost a young woman now."_

_She watched her uncle, wondering what he was getting at when he moved closer. He touched her chest, where her breasts were just beginning to bud. _

"_Uncle, what are you doing?" She took a step away and he followed._

"_Hermione, I'm going to show you what it means to be a woman," Hermione suddenly felt nervous, powerless to stop whatever her uncle was trying to do. She didn't understand what was happening, instinctively, she knew she needed to fight or run, but she was unable to do either. Her way to the door was blocked, and how was she, a scrawny nine year old, supposed to fight off her lumbering uncle? _

_He pulled her close and started kissing her neck; Hermione flinched as she felt his slobber drip down her. _

"_Get away from me," she squeaked._

"_I don't think so."_

_She felt him press his, well, you-know, into her side as he started moving his hips forward and backward._

_Hermione kept trying to fight him, but he was too strong, he pushed her against the bed and held her down as he stripped her of her clothes. When she felt him put a hand by her private area, she snapped, screaming "Get off of me, you vile, horrible monster!" _

_She felt the anger at the violation consume her; her uncle suddenly screamed in pain and flew off her. She watched him writhe against the wall until he passed out on the floor. _

_She sat in shock on her bed, trying to process all that had passed until her mom burst through the door a few moments later, "Hermione! Are you okay? I heard you scream in my head, I just knew something was wrong."_

_Hermione began sobbing, and her mom took in her lack of clothing and the unconscious uncle and seemed to figure out a rough sketch of what had happened. She enveloped Hermione in a hug as she drew a robe around her._

"_Darling, are you okay? What happened? How did you…? Oh, hon, I'm so sorry to have left you, come here." Hermione continued crying into her mom's shoulder as she explained what her uncle had done. When she got near the end, she tried to explain how she had fought him off._

"_I don't know, I got so angry, it seemed to just spill out of me until he was screaming in pain and crashed against the wall."_

"_Oh, well, um, that's… different. I'm glad you got him off though."_

_Two years later they understood what had happened when Professor McGonagall came and explained that Hermione was a witch. _

The fear, the mortification, the feelings of violation, and most importantly, the extreme wrath and need for revenge filled Hermione from her core. She felt her progression through the air halt suddenly as her own magic pulsed through the air. She noticed Snape briefly quirk an eyebrow, as if surprised by the strength of her magic.

Their individual magical auras fought against each other and the other students watched in awe as their professor and brilliant peer stared each other down, hands raised slightly as if controlling and directing their magic. It pulsed and fought until suddenly, a climax was reached. Everyone held their breaths as the fight peaked until, with a bang, the room filled with a purple haze. Both Snape and Hermione had been knocked to the ground, but their positions had moved a bit. Hermione was now lying on top of Snape. Both were breathing heavily from the effort of directing their power. It seemed to take them a few minutes to realize the situation they were in.

Snape was the first to come to his senses, "Herm… Miss Granger, please remove yourself from my person."

Hermione watched his face carefully for a moment before quickly scrambling to her feet and adjusting her robes. She looked around her and could see the mist clearing. She knew she needed to go to the library, she'd never heard of a reaction like that.

All of her anger and intense emotion was gone; she no longer felt that rebellion either.

"Class dismissed. Miss Granger, stay here after class," Snape's voice was still professional and strict, but Hermione could sense the same tiredness in his voice that she felt.

Everyone filed out silently, but Hermione was sure that they would all begin talking about the events of the class as soon as the door closed and they were in the hallway. The whole school was bound to know by the time she got to lunch.

"Miss Granger, you will not disrupt my classroom again. If you have any comments about my teaching, you can come in during my office hours, or better yet keep them to yourself. Or were just trying to cause a scene?"

"No sir, I really wasn't trying to cause a scene, I promise."

"You might not have been, but you need to understand the consequences of your actions. I was trying to make sure your classmates understood that you would be receiving no special attention due to Dumbledore's inane idea, but instead, you let them know that you could stand up to me and treat me without the respect that a professor deserves."

"I understand sir, and I apologize, I really don't know what came over me. I felt so mutinous and then when you used your magic… well, like I said, it just triggered memories."

"Fascinating Miss Granger, however, it still does not excuse your abominable behavior. You will come an hour early to your next Occlumency lesson and will prove to me that you're a hard worker and that I won't regret volunteering my _own _time to help you."

"Yes sir," all Hermione wanted to do was go to the library, but as Snape led her out of the room and instated his wards with a wave of the hand, she would have no excuse to not go into the Great Hall. She walked into the hall silently and realized she was the subject of many curious glances. Surely most had heard of the events during Potions and were watching her walk in with Snape, amazed she was still alive.

Hermione wondered if she was just a huge masochist; why else would she choose to spend so much time with this insufferable man?

She was just about to take a bite of her lunch when she heard Dumbledore's voice ring out, "Attention, I believe you will all remember from this morning when I threatened extreme embarrassment on anyone who didn't follow my ten questions instructions? Well, it turns out there was only one infraction," Hermione's stomach dropped, "Professor Snape and Miss Granger didn't. To Miss Granger's credit, she attempted to follow my instructions, but Professor Snape was stubborn and will soon regret his actions. Miss Granger, keeping in mind your attempt to obey, you will have a lesser punishment. You will make a list of ten positive attributes of Professor Snape's and read them at dinner tonight. Professor Snape, you will rectify your failure to talk with Miss Granger right now. You should take notes because you must use the ten things you find out about her, plus ten positive attributes of hers, and make them into a poem which you will read aloud at dinner as well."

Hermione sat, trying to keep her mouth from gaping open, and processed Dumbledore's words. She felt rather angry with how he was treating Snape, granted the man went against Dumbledore's wishes, but he was still a professor and should be treated like one.

The Great Hall had filled with noisy chatter once again as people talked about their tasks. A few questioned how Hermione was supposed to come up with ten positive attributes when Snape had none. Harry and Ron were conversing on this very predicament,

"Bloody hell, how is she supposed to come up with that many? Okay, I guess you could say he's good at potions, but then what? Has an insatiable curiosity for dark magic? That's not exactly a compliment, or a positive attribute," Ron's face was screwed with concentration as he tried to think of positive things about Snape.

"Yea, but Hermione's smart, she'll figure out something to say," Harry's voice dropped to a whisper, "I guess it'd be impossible to tie in his positive spy work too, there are too many here who could leak that information out."

"That's true, man I hadn't even thought of that!"

"Well, I'm sure Hermione has, so it shouldn't be a problem, but who knows right?"

Unbeknownst to the two, their dates were both talking, mainly about how brainless the pair could be, but also little comments about the two people at the front of the room who appeared to be having a stimulating conversation.

xxx

Hermione had at first worried that Snape had a mental deficiency that rendered him incapable of normal human conversation, but as he got more comfortable and cooled down from his anger at Dumbledore a bit, their conversation began to flow more easily.

"Okay, so you despise pickles for some unbeknownst, insane reason, what do you think you'd like to pursue after graduation?

"I'd love to master in charms, but I know there aren't many jobs available in that field so I might pursue both charms and healing. I can't picture myself working in the ministry and once the war's over, I'd like nothing better than to never fight another person, so an auror wouldn't be a good fit. So, I guess a charms professor or a healer. In the position of a healer, I can at least use my intelligence to save others."

"If you became a healer, would you want to work in St. Mungos?"

"Maybe at first. To be honest, I can't imagine anything better than to work at Hogwarts. So, my dream job would be Charms professor, but being the Medi-witch when Madame Pomfrey retires comes as a close second. I know that it's pretty unlikely I will get either job, though, it's not common that jobs are available here."

"Indeed," he commented and then added,

"You do realize that, as a teacher or a healer, here you'll have to be a sympathetic mother-figure to a lot of sniveling brats?

"Yes, because you're the epitome of a sympathetic father," she quipped, "don't _you_ realize, that I've been playing that role for Harry and Ron, as well as a majority of the Gryffindor House, for a number of years? The 'Mama Gryffindor" is probably my most qualified area."

"I see. Next question. What do you miss most about the Muggle world?"

"Besides my parents? I guess I miss the spirit and tradition of the Muggles. They tend to think that they know everything, which they obviously don't as they don't know about the magical world, but still, they strive to improve their situation, they work hard, and then when they have a break, they get so excited and bond through their celebrations. Christmas, especially, shows that spirit. Wizards, too, celebrate that way, but there's just something special about the muggle method without magic; making hot chocolate by hand, stoking a fire, creating a snowman, and decorating a Christmas tree, all of it can be so fun and spirited without magic." Hermione was sure her eyes displayed the emotion of her memories as she dwelled happily on her past.

"You would want to make a fire by hand? I understand the others, but why that one?"

"I don't know. To be honest, I've only stoked my home fire once, but it seems like home when I think of my dad fueling the fire on a cold night."

"If you get your hands too close to the fire, you could get burned," Snape seemed to be dwelling on his past, as if he wasn't necessarily talking about a fire anymore.

"Yes, but that's life isn't it? You take risks, you love people, you hope, you dream, and sometimes it's worth it, but other times, you get burnt."

"I didn't realize you were such a romantic," Snape scoffed.

"Why do you say that? I would've called that realism, what do you believe then?"

Snape hesitated for a moment before responding harshly, "from my experiences, I've found that you should never hope, never dream, never care, because if you do, you _always _get burned."

Hermione tried to structure her face so that Snape couldn't watch her heart break for him. After pausing a moment to check her emotions, she told him, "I don't believe that's realism, sir, it's nihilism and I think while it might seem as if life's always out to get you, you should try to open up your heart to a precious few. I bet there are people out there who are more than willing to stand by you; while everyone is bound to disappoint at some time or another, in the end, they won't let you down."

"Possibly, but so far all of my experiences have led me to believe the opposite."

"Somehow, I think you do have a little hope left. If you trust no one, then why are you telling me this? If everyone lets you down, like you said, then you shouldn't be willing to open up to me," she held her breath as his eyes darkened, worried she had pushed too far.

"Perhaps you are right, I have disclosed too much."

"No, I'm not saying you shouldn't have. I'll tell no one, but I wanted to point out that there is a smidgen of hope left in you."

Snape stood up to leave, but looked back once more, "Miss Granger, let's hope you're right because personally, I don't feel anything myself."

Hermione watched him go as she finished the meal alone. She was grateful for his trust, even if it was subconscious and unacknowledged, but she wished she could show him that she would not let him down. She guessed she would just have to wait it out and show her trustworthiness with time.

As she watched everyone file away to their classes, she was thankful she had a free period. She escaped to her quarters under the excuse that she needed a quiet place to study, fell into her bed, and cried for the man who felt no hope and who'd been let down by so many people.

**This chapter was tough to write, but also fun as I was watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC. Reviews are appreciated!**


	8. Hurt and Rejection Doubled

**I'm back :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed.**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns characters from the Harry Potter series.**

**Thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her amazing beta skills!**

After calming down and cleaning up from her cry session, Hermione went to the common area to get some work done on her 'assignment'. She got out a roll of parchment and her quill pen:

10 Positive Characteristics of Professor Snape:

1. Intelligent

2. Determined

3. Dedicated

4. Trustworthy

5. Loyal

6. Studious

7. Willing to sacrifice his time for others

8. Courageous

9. Funny

10. Attractive

Hermione hesitated over the last one, she wasn't lying, she believed Snape was attractive in his dark, brooding way, but she worried over his reaction to her stating it outright. Finally deciding she would stick with it and not worry about he'd think, she headed down to the library to look more into the whole magical interactions concept.

After smiling at a scowling Madame Pince, Hermione sat in her favorite chair with a book she believed would help her better understand. After skimming a few sections detailing exactly what magic is and how it is found in a person, she saw what she was looking for:

_When two wizards are connected with their magical core, they can interact, and on the rare occasion, duel, without wands or spells. This is not wandless magic (see page 1204 for more on this type of magic) as the term is considered, but rather, it works off of both wizards' emotions. This occurs, most commonly, during the early years of a wizard's life, prior to any instruction or education in the channeling of magic through specific objects (most often a wand). As a wizard matures and gains experience focusing their magic, the cases of emotion-magic, as it is commonly referred to, decrease. However, when two people who have extreme, repressed emotions, be it love, anger, regret, etc., their emotions will vent through magic. The type of emotion can be identified (in adult emotion-magic, not adolescence) by the residual color of mist persisting in the aftermath of the confrontation. Professionals have identified some of the intense emotions' colors. It is common to have a color not listed, which means there was a mix of emotions. For example, it has been found that during the ceremony binding two strong wizards in matrimony, a green mist can dilute the air; this symbolizes a mix of both joy and passion passing between the couple. _

_The colors and their emotions are as follows:_

_Anger- Red_

_Joy- Yellow_

_Passion- Blue_

_Love- Pink_

_Hate- Black_

_Desire- Light Blue_

_Regret/Guilt- Gray_

Hermione looked at the list and tried to piece together the emotions that had caused the light purple mist. Obviously, anger played a part, but that left passion or desire to make purple. She figured passion could've been part of the equation as they both must have felt passionate about their arguments, but in that case, pink would also have to add to the emotions to manage a _light _purple. If desire was the other emotion, the light blue with the red would also have managed the light purple. But, how could love or desire have been involved between her and Snape? She doubted that either was involved, so, in the end, Hermione felt even more confused than when she'd begun.

"I see your know-it-all tendencies are never changing," Hermione jumped as Snape's silky voice startled her from her reading.

"Professor Snape," Hermione squeaked.

"Your powers of observation astound me," he drawled.

"I was merely surprised that you were in the library sir, you have all the books you could ever want in your rooms," she told him nonchalantly, until she paled, realizing what she had alluded to with that statement. She glanced up to see Snape observing her with suspicion.

"And how, pray tell, would you know what lies within my private quarters?"

"Well, I, uh, don't know for sure, sir. I merely assumed, based off of Headmaster Dumbledore's and Professor McGonagall's personal expanse of literature."

"Regardless of how many books I have in my possession, I am looking for a particular one, which Madam Pince informed me you are reading."

"Oh, this? I just finished, would you like it?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, "No, I merely told you that I wanted the book because I felt like lying to your face," he told her sarcastically.

"Right," Hermione felt her cheeks tinge with pink as she handed him the book. Snape stalked off without another word. She believed he quite possibly could be the most confusing person she'd ever met.

She sighed and continued with her homework, trying to stifle the anxiety over the events that would take place at dinner.

xxx

Draco and Ginny were both sitting in the Head's common room for the second time that day.

"Seriously? Is Hermione ever here?" Ginny exclaimed, exasperated.

"Not that much. Every once in a while, she studies in her room if she needs quiet, but otherwise she runs around like a chicken with its head cut off."

"That describes Hermione all right," Ginny sighed. She paused for a moment, "but I suppose Snape can't use that in his poem, can he?"

"Hah! He'd love to I'm sure, but I think his words themselves will probably border on being nice, but he'll say it in his intense voice that demands respect just to make sure no one questions his authority."

"I'm sure he will, I can't wait."

xxx

Snape sat at the desk in his office wondering what the emotion-magic could possibly mean. He tried to ignore the niggling thought that there must have been love, passion, and/or desire involved in their exchange for it to make sense. He closed the book with an annoyed huff and looked at the blank piece of parchment where he was supposed to be writing the poem. He glanced at his fireplace wherein the many remains of wadded up half-written attempts at poems smoldered. He'd quickly discovered that it was difficult to write a poem complimenting a person without it sounding romantic or extremely nice. And if there were two things Snape _never _wanted to be affiliated with it was romanticism and niceness. Also, considering that he'd vowed to never compliment Hermione Granger outright, this whole task was becoming increasingly difficult.

He banged his head on the desk, what was it about that girl that she managed to constantly get under his skin and in his life? Curse both Miss Granger and Albus Dumbledore, they just _had _to complicate his life more than it already was.

He finally came up with a poem that, while it was a dreadful poem and still sounded way too fluffy and kind for his taste, he figured would have to function as dinner started in ten minutes.

He looked it over once more, scowling:

_Red and green symbolize both Christmas and love_

_In Hermione Granger's intelligent mind._

_While in the muggle spirit, green makes fun,_

_In food and pickles, green represents yuck._

_From mothering her friends comes a desire_

_To teach other brats just like them._

_As a romantic dreamer, she stokes fires._

_She misses her family because she cares._

_She passes her time in the library_

_Because she loves to read and ever learn more._

_Her hopeful, optimistic love of life_

_Inspires the most dreary of men_

_Just as her trustworthiness and loyalty_

_Convince those who are beaten in life that hope lives on_

_Her love of status quo with chocolate _

_Is the only exception to her risk-taking_

_Hermione Granger, the girl behind the mask._

xxx

Dumbledore had Hermione go first, she read her list, cautiously eyeing both the students' and Snape's reactions. She finally got to the end, "and number ten, Professor Snape is attractive". Hermione felt her cheeks redden as there was a brief silence before the hall exploded in laughter. She hadn't meant it as a joke; she really thought Snape was attractive in his own regal, intense way. Apparently, the rest of the students didn't agree, as evidenced by the roaring laughter. She glanced over at Snape, his constant mask was present, as always, so she couldn't tell how he felt, but as he turned his head towards her, she saw his eyes harden into a glare.

xxx

While Snape had been prepared for mild humiliation just from reading his poem, he had expected Granger to at least be considerate as she was a huge teachers' pet. Of course, he'd managed to ignore the time when she stood by as Potter knocked him out in her third year. Suddenly, all thought of at least going along with this preposterous event flew out of his mind. He crumpled the poem he'd written in his hands and walked to the front as the uproar died down. He'd improvise the dumb poem and let everyone know _exactly _what he thought of the despicable girl.

He cleared his voice, glared once at Granger, and then scathingly began:

"Miss Granger, your buck teeth just begin to display

Your vast expanse of discrepancies.

Your know-it-all snobbishness begins the array

Of your disrespectful tendencies

From setting professors' robes on fire

To stealing from their personal stores,

You proudly proclaim that you're a liar

Who incessantly cheats, destroys, and bores.

You say you love Christmas and its cheer

So why don't you spread this same sentiment?

Oh, because you're selfish and don't even share with deer

There's more to life than your own amusement.

You think you're perfect, don't you Miss Granger?

But let me establish this, you're fickle.

All a person can get from you is danger

I feel about you as you do a pickle."

Snape finished, feeling a tad proud at his rhyming skills on the spot, but felt a tiny little prick of remorse when he looked over at Granger, whose eyes brimmed with tears. She obviously thought she was blocking any emotion from her face, but as she always wore her emotions on her sleeve, it was obvious to everyone what she was really feeling.

Dumbledore spoke up, "well, those were both interesting, I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, now let's eat!" after giving Snape one of his disappointed looks.

Snape was a bit surprised, he'd half expected the old codger to force him to apologize and make up a nicer poem on the spot. He sat down to enjoy some pot roast, but was startled when Granger got up from the spot next to him and half-walked, half-ran out of the room.

xxx

Harry was sitting next to Hannah, Neville and Luna, Ron and Pansy, and Ginny and Draco. He'd watched as both Hermione and Snape read their pieces; while he'd wanted to laugh along with everyone else when Hermione had read the attractive part, he knew her well enough to know she wasn't joking. He also saw Snape's fury at the laughter, and while he had half a mind to strangle him for the poem he'd made up about Hermione, he didn't because he thought Hermione probably needed him more at the moment.

"Ginny, will you come with me? You too, Ron. I just saw Hermione run out."

They both got up, Ron sending one last glare at Snape, muttering 'git' under his breath. They found her sitting outside, tears streaming down her face as she enchanted the water in the lake to come up and dance mournfully.

"Hermione," Ginny spoke up, "don't listen to anything he said, he was just mad, and none of it was true."

She kneeled next to Hermione as she spoke and the boys watched, feeling way out of their area of expertise, as Hermione turned to Ginny and began sobbing into her shoulder. Ginny glanced back at the boys and signaled them with their eyes that they weren't needed and could go back to the castle.

"There, there hon. let it out. I know, he was awful, but don't worry, I don't even think _he _believes what he said about you."

"Oh Ginny, I've tried so hard to get on his good side and let him see that not everyone thinks he's all that awful, and then he does something like that just to show me that all my efforts have been for nothing."

"Hermione Granger! Your efforts have NOT been for nothing, I actually saw a hint of remorse on his face, and you know how emotionless he normally looks. You are getting through to him, even if he doesn't realize it."

"Thanks Ginny, you really are a great friend. Why don't you go finish your meal inside?"

"Will you come with me?"

"I'm really not hungry, and I'd rather wait before our big confrontation. Don't worry though; I am feeling a lot better thanks to you."

"Anytime. I'll see you later tonight?"

"Sure."

Hermione sat, staring into the deep abyss of the lake as Ginny walked back into the distance, little did she know that staying outside wouldn't postpone the confrontation between Snape. That would seek her out regardless of where she was, because at that exact moment, Snape was searching for her.

**Ooooh, what will Snape say? I hope you enjoyed a bit more of a glimpse at snarky Snape. This was my first time writing in Snape's perspective. **

**This next part is mainly directed at the comments I've gotten about Snape seeming too open: Basically, Snape needs someone to vent to, and sometimes his cover slips a bit due to all the stress he's under due to his spying duties. He finds himself strangely comfortable with Hermione and ends up telling her more than he wants to (and then gets mad at himself, and strikes out at her). For the most part, I've avoided focusing directly on his perspective because I want to put the reader more in Hermione's shoes where she doesn't really know how Snape feels. Sometimes, this chapter as a prime example, Snape's thoughts are needed, so on these rare occasions, you get a little glimpse into the complicated mentality of Severus Snape.**

**Please review, I love to hear from yall!**


	9. Forgive Me

**I apologize for the wait, a bunch of school work and SAT prep has caught up with me. **

**I do not own the characters.**

**Thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her beta'ing skills!**

_Last Time_

_Hermione sat, staring into the deep abyss of the lake as Ginny walked back into the distance, little did she know that staying outside wouldn't postpone the confrontation between Snape. That would seek her out regardless of where she was, because at that exact moment, Snape was searching for her._

Hermione's stare-fest was interrupted by the feeling of someone's eyes on her. She turned and was met with the intense, obsidian gaze of the Potions Master.

Hermione simply returned his stare, still not feeling enough goodwill towards him for an acknowledgement.

"Miss Granger, I came to tell you that my evening is free and I can help you with your Occlumency. That is, if you don't have any other plans?"

Hermione's initial thought was to completely ignore the fact that he was a professor and curse him to the next century. When she made eye contact, however, all these thoughts dissipated when she could, for the first time in all her school years, clearly see emotion in the depths of his eyes. She could see remorse and guilt there and recognized the offer of another lesson for what it truly was: an apology.

"I guess that would be more productive than staring at the lake all night."

"Indeed"

She slowly rose to her feet, pretending she didn't notice the way his hand flicked forward and then retreated, as if he was debating whether or not he would help her up.

They walked silently towards the castle. The whole time, Hermione tried to overcome her anger. Yes, she'd seen the remorse in his eyes, but that didn't erase the fact that he had publicly insulted her. She understood that he'd probably misconstrued her list of his positive attributes to the effect that she'd meant to humiliate him. That still didn't eradicate her embarrassment at having her pride wounded from a man she highly respected, however, her ever-working mind led her to become more curious about his feelings on what'd transpired. She was anxious to return as Suplina and hopefully listen to his side of the story.

Their arrival at the door of Snape's office interrupted her musings and she walked in, trying to ignore the squirming items contained in the bottles gracing his counters.

"Miss Granger, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir," she tried to clear her mind; she steeled herself for his intrusion and heard his whisper, "_Legilimens_".

The scene from dinner flashed in her mind, her sincerity when reading her list, her humiliation and shame when listening to Snape's poem, and finally, her escape.

She kept trying to push against his presence in her mind, but found it increasingly difficult with the flashes of recent events. When he reached the point where Hermione was sitting by the lake crying, she bristled, she didn't want him to see how much he'd hurt her. She pushed with all her might against his intrusion until she felt that her mind was wonderfully free of company.

She opened her eyes to find herself kneeling on the stone floor, wand pointed at Snape, who was rubbing his hand.

"Did you mean to send a burning jinx at me?"

"No sir, I wasn't aware I cursed you, I thought I just pushed you out of my mind."

"Regardless, it seems to have worked, take a moment then we'll try again," Hermione noticed his eyes were averted, as if he were ashamed about something.

They began again and Hermione felt him going into her memories about the incident in Potions that day. It started with Hermione's consuming feeling of rebelliousness, but eventually he started getting closer to where she remembered her uncle's abuse. She _really _didn't want him seeing that, so focusing all her strength and magical power, she vaguely heard herself shout "_Protego_!" and found herself zooming through unfamiliar images, obviously Snape's memories.

She saw a drunken man towering over a small boy. As she watched, the man wrenched the arm of the cowering boy. She heard his screams as the man forced his head up and grunted _Legilimens_. The scene changed to the Great Hall when Hermione read "attractive". She sensed his disappointment, humiliation, and anger as laughter broke out. She felt the switch in his mind as he crumpled the old poem and made up the new one on the spot. She briefly saw him glance at her tear-filled eyes and felt his pang of regret just as she felt his mind wrenched from her grasp.

"Did Mr. Potter give you the insight as to the usefulness of the Shield Charm?" Snape's voice had quieted into its lethal, dangerous tone.

"No sir, it just sort of blurted out."

"I see," while he made no comment about the memories she'd seen, the slight twinge of pink on his cheeks gave Hermione the impression that he might be a little embarrassed.

'_Serves him right for probing through my mind every lesson' _Hermione thought haughtily.

They started again and Snape seemed a bit obsessed with finding out what had prompted Hermione's reaction in class that day. To his chagrin and her relief, Hermione's mind proved adept at repelling him every time.

"Adequate Miss Granger, you may go."

Hermione walked toward the door, as she reached it however, she turned to see Snape wearily gazing at the papers on his desk.

"Goodnight Professor," she whispered. He made no acknowledgement of having heard her, but out of the corner of her eye as she turned to leave the room, she thought she might've seen him nod his head briefly.

She entered the Gryffindor Common room a few moments later to find Harry, Ron, and Ginny all deep in discussion.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

They all jumped at the sound of the voice, "Blimey, Hermione, don't scare us like that!" Ron had gone a bit red around the ears.

"Because I was being completely surreptitious when I oh-so-sneakily walked casually into the room and said hi," Hermione recounted sarcastically.

"Right, well anyway, Hermione, we need your help. My scar's starting to hurt again, which is weird because Dumbledore was sure that Voldemort would be practicing Occlumency against me."

"Are you Occluding your mind too?"

"It's not as if I'm perfect at it."

"Just try emptying your mind, I've been practicing too."

"I don't know, this just feels… different. I'm not exactly feeling his emotions anymore. It's more as if I sense his presence, like our connection's growing stronger."

"Have you talked to Dumbledore about it?"

"Not yet… I will, don't worry," he added upon seeing Hermione's scolding face. She relaxed, "well, okay, but just keep a watch on it, and make sure you do tell Dumbledore. He always seems to know what's going on."

"Ya, he's kind of strange that way, isn't he?" Ginny noted. Hermione saw Harry's quick flinch at hearing Ginny's voice and she realized she needed to talk to him.

"Harry, do you want to walk with me to my rooms, they're really close to Dumbledore's office, so you could drop in and see if he's free to talk?"

"Sure, okay."

They climbed out of the portrait hole together and headed toward Hermione's rooms.

"So, am I right in suspecting that you're just pretending to be okay for Ginny's sake?"

"I don't know what you mean," Harry mumbled.

"Harry, it's perfectly normal to feel sad that Ginny doesn't think you two won't work romantically. I know when I ended things with Viktor, he was really upset. I felt bad that I was hurting him, but the fact that he could express his emotions made me respect him even more. None of us, including Ginny, would fault you for needing some time to recover."

"But Ginny's become part of the group, I can't exactly ask her to give me some space."

"I think if you just tell her honestly that you need some time, we could all work something out. I'm Ginny's friend, Harry, but I'm yours too. I don't want you to suffer by pretending everything's all right when it's not. I tried to walk that line our third year and it sucked. I'm here for you no matter what, all right?"

"Thanks 'Mione, I'm not sure that I really want to talk about my, you know, _feelings _or anything right now, but I'll let you know."

"Good. Now get over here and give me a hug."

Harry, who had grown quite a bit in the past few years, enfolded Hermione in his arms. She leaned her head by his heart and pretended to be oblivious to the soft sniffles coming from the head resting against her hair.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for inappropriate conduct," a silky voice drawled from the end of the corridor. Obviously still mad about the events at dinner, Harry kept a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders as he turned to glare at Snape.

"What's inappropriate about a hug, sir?"

Snape, to his credit, quickly masked his surprise at seeing the, in his mind, arrogant Potter with tear-stained cheeks, and responded, "as you are both older students, especially with Miss Granger as Head Girl, you should set an example of proper conduct, which romantic embraces in the corridors most certainly are not."

Harry spluttered indignantly while Hermione squeaked, "romantic? Me and Harry? No, no ,no, no. I think you have the wrong impression sir."

She noticed Snape's frown reside a bit, "either way, Miss Granger, you should consider how your conduct appears to the young, impressionable students."

"Yes sir."

Once Snape was out of sight, Hermione gave Harry another hug, "just to spite him," she whispered. Harry laughed, "Wow, you're becoming quite the rule-breaker, aren't you? I was wondering when Ron and I would finally rub off on you."

Hermione giggled, "You can now sleep at night, knowing your life-long goal of making me a recusant has succeeded, right?"

"Oh no, not even close, this is just the beginning, my dear," he smiled as she poked him in the stomach.

"All right, go on up to Dumbledore. Drop by my room, after; I want to hear what he thinks."

"Okay."

She walked the rest of the way to her room alone. She did her homework on the couch in front of the fire and eventually dozed off. She awoke with a start to a knock on the door, it took her a minute to regain her senses and remember that Harry was going to drop by. He entered, looking pale.

"Did everything go alright?"

"Technically, yes. I'm just not too psyched about Dumbledore's theory."

"What'd he think?"

"Would you mind calling Ron and Ginny in? I'd rather not repeat this a bunch of times."

"Sure."

She went over to her "Gryffindor door" and peeked into the Common Room, "Ron, Ginny, come over here."

They all listened as Harry repeated what he'd told Dumbledore.

"He looked closely at me before telling me that he thought it was crucial I began working with him on Occlumency again. Meanwhile, no one's supposed to tell me any critical information about the workings of the Order unless I'm completely positive I'm using Occlumency. He thinks Voldemort's using me to spy on us."

Everyone looked at him, shocked.

"But-but, I thought he couldn't stand your capability to feel, I thought it hurt him too much?" Ron stuttered, obviously frightened, but prepared to stand by his friend even as he eyed him skeptically, as if wondering if Voldemort was peering out from behind his eyes.

"I thought so too, Ron, but Dumbledore thinks he probably found a way to get around that. Remember how I said I couldn't sense Voldemort's emotions? Well, we think he's still Occluding me partially, so he can't feel my emotions, he just gets the play-by-play of what's happening in my life."

"Creepy," Ginny obviously wasn't comfortable with the thought that Voldemort had seen most of what had transpired in Harry's life in the past few weeks. Hermione had a feeling she knew just what Ginny was thinking he must've seen.

"Well, there's no other way around it Harry, you'll have to perfect your Occlumency. You know I've been learning it with… I mean, I've been teaching myself," Hermione quickly thought back to all the times she had mentioned learning Occlumency, she hoped she'd never actually said to Harry's face that Snape was teaching her, that would most definitely make Snape's spy job infinitely harder than it already was, "so, we'll practice together to clear our minds. You can do it Harry, you just didn't do well last time because you and Snape don't get along, plus we've all had our suspicions about where his loyalties truly lay, who knows, maybe he was weakening your mind for Voldemort."

She ignored the incredulous looks she was getting from everyone else and felt relieved when she saw them all process what she was doing. She figured she should protect Snape as much as possible. Thinking of Snape, she realized it was getting late and she needed to get down to the dungeons soon.

"Alright guys, I'm tired and I have to patrol before bed, so as much as I hate kicking you out, I would like to get some sleep tonight."

They all said good night and went back to the common room. Hermione got everything together for the morning, put extra wards so Ginny couldn't break in again, and left. After patrolling for a few minutes, she morphed into Suplina and jogged down to the dungeons.

She entered Snape's room only to find him at his desk, asleep over a pile of third years' essays. She jumped up next to his face and rubbed his cheek with her fur. He woke up with a start and had his wand trained on her face in a matter of seconds.

"_Good reactions Master"_

"Oh, Suplina, it's you."

"_Sorry to wake you, I thought you might be more comfortable in bed?"_

"Yes, yes." He got up, and holding her, stumbled over to his bed where he started to fall asleep again. Hermione was disappointed he wasn't awake enough to talk about everything that had happened, but when she thought about it, an inordinate amount of things had occurred, and she was actually rather tired from it all as well. She started to fall asleep on his shoulder when she suddenly heard his gasp of pain and he jumped out of bed.

"_What's wrong?" _Hermione was frantic, was he injured? She wasn't sure what to do in this situation. If she transformed, she'd blow her cover, but it'd be worth it if he needed help.

"I have to go to the Dark Lord, Suplina. Do you know who that is?"

"_Of course, I'm coming with you."_

"No, you're not. It's too dangerous, you could get hurt."

"_So could you, I'd rather have someone who could report to Dumbledore should anything go wrong."_

"How would you possibly be able to get back and talk to Dumbledore?"

"_I have my ways, in case you haven't noticed Master, I'm very resourceful."_

"Fine, I don't have time to argue, get in my pocket, but stay there and be quiet, I don't want to draw unneeded attention to you."

"_Understood."_

Hermione felt fear grip her, yes, she wanted to stay with Snape and make sure he was all right, but she also knew how dangerous this was. Her heart pounded in time with his footsteps as he first strode then, once outside Hogwarts walls, sprinted to Hogsmeade. She felt the squishing feeling of Apparition until, finally; she felt them enter an eerie outside area. She peeked out of Snape's pocket and saw the evilest man on Earth staring at them.

"Severus," he hissed.

"My Lord," Hermione felt Snape bow down.

"Look me in the eye, tell me what you know."

**Reviews are greatly appreciated and will make me write faster!**


	10. In the Darkness

**Thanks for all the reviews! I still don't own Harry Potter; he belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**Thanks Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her excellent beta skills**

_Last Time_

_She felt the squishing feeling of Apparition until, finally; she felt them enter an eerie outside area. She peeked out of Snape's pocket and saw the evilest man on Earth staring at them. _

"_Severus," he hissed._

"_My Lord," Hermione felt Snape bow down._

"_Look me in the eye, tell me what you know."_

"They are still trying to find ways to defeat you, but they have not been very successful thus far; most of their hope relies on the boy, which basically condemns them for defeat. The Order still refuses to work with the Ministry; I believe they are aware of your influence there, my Lord."

"What of Dumbledore?"

Hermione flinched when she heard the hatred in Snape's voice, she knew he was acting, but he sounded so sincere that it was hard for her to distinguish the lie from the reality, "The old codger? He has all of his plans, but he doesn't always share them with me. At the moment, he's more concerned with torturing everyone at Hogwarts with plans for festivities."

She could tell that Voldemort was performing Legilimency on Snape, but she trusted Snape's Occlumency.

"Very well, I can see you speak the truth. So, now, would you like to tell me why Hermione Granger, Potter's mudblood friend, suspects you of working for me? I thought you said you had her in your confidence and the boy listened to her. Is your acting slipping?"

Hermione saw Snape's face twitch as he obviously fought to display confusion. She felt horrible thinking he would believe she was just pretending to trust him. Hermione wondered what Voldemort could possibly be talking about until she remembered the conversations she'd had with Harry when she knew Voldemort could see what she told him.

"My Lord, I had previously been assured of her trust, she is not a skilled Occlumens and I believed her to be honest. Something must have recently changed her trust in me, but I promise I will regain it. You are always right, my Lord, and the chit must believe in me if Potter is not to lose faith."

"Of course I am right, Lord Voldemort is never wrong. Now, you will suffer the consequences for failing me."

Hermione felt Snape's muscles tense and she knew what was coming. She gripped tightly to the inside of his pocket with her tiny claws to keep from falling out as he collapsed to the ground, trembling as Voldemort repeatedly performed the Cruciatus on him. It took every inch of her willpower to keep herself from changing to her human form and throwing every curse she knew at Voldemort, and Dumbledore for that matter, for putting Snape through this torture.

Eventually, Voldemort was satisfied and felt that he'd had his fill of torment for the night. Snape rose, bowed, and then walked upright to the door. Only Hermione knew the pain he was hiding as she felt his muscles clenching and shivering. He Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and managed to walk to his rooms, though Hermione couldn't imagine how, and crashed onto his couch, unable to carry himself even to his bed.

"_Master, do you need help?"_

"If I just, ughhh, lie here for a while, I should be alright… promptly."

"_You don't look well if you ask me."_

"Well I didn't ask you, now did I?"

Hermione sat in his lap, swishing her tail over his body, hoping to at least give some comfort since she couldn't offer healing at the moment. Eventually, he fell asleep, and after checking to make sure he wasn't just shutting his eyes, Hermione transformed into herself and quickly cast a disillusionment charm on herself. Disillusionments weren't perfect forms of invisibility, but it would give her enough time, should Snape wake up, to transform back into Suplina without being noticed.

She began muttering healing charms over his body, thankful for the training she'd gotten from Madame Pomfrey. Last year, she had asked for some instruction; considering she would be following the boys into a war, she figured it was a handy skill to have in her pocket, so to speak.

After Hermione had done everything she could for him, she slipped a bit of sleeping draught down his throat to guarantee he wouldn't wake up. She cast _Wingardium Leviosa _to get him into his bed. Pulling off his shoes and removing his outer robes, she laid him on his bed; she felt that doing anything more would be a violation of his person. Instead, she pulled his sheets around him and hoped he was as comfortable as possible. This done, she removed the disillusionment charm and transformed back into Suplina.

She curled up next to Snape's leg, trying to draw comfort from his warmth. Facing Voldemort in his full power and cruelty had frightened her; suddenly it wasn't just some childhood adventure, she could see the evil emanating from the man they needed to destroy.

For now, though, Hermione could sleep.

XXX

She woke up slowly the next morning, only to see sunlight streaming in through the windows of Snape's room. She looked away from the sunlight to Snape's eyes which were on her, "how did I get into my bed last night, partially clothed?"

"_You sleep-walked"._

"Really? Because, I've never been known to sleep-walk before. I think you're lying to me."

"_You're accusing me when really you should just be happy that you got in bed and slept comfortably."_

Snape looked at her silently for a few moments before apparently deciding to drop it as he got out of bed and began to get ready. Hermione sighed an internal sigh of relief, she didn't know what she would've done if he hadn't accepted her explanation. Suddenly, she connected the dots from the sun shining in the window to Snape getting dressed, and it all added up to one thing: she was extremely late and people were probably wondering where Hermione Granger was.

XXX

Harry, Ron, and Ginny were at this point all eating breakfast in the Great Hall.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked.

"She probably fell asleep studying again and forgot to set her alarm," Ginny suggested.

"I have Potions with her first, I'll grab some toast and give it to her before class," Harry offered.

They all got up to go to class, but Harry pulled Ginny to the side, "Ginny, could I have a word?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well, I know you don't think we should be more than friends, and I'm glad you told me, I'd prefer knowing the truth. The thing is, well, I'm not quite at that point yet, I liked you a lot more than a friend. I think I'm just going to need some time to recover, if you know what I mean?"

"Harry, I totally understand. Take as much time as you need. In the meantime, I'll try and get closer to the girls in my grade, I need to have someone to hang out with once you guys all graduate."

"Gin, I don't want you to have to just leave, I can always try and hang out with other people."

"And separate the golden trio? I don't think so. It's cool Harry, just let me know when you'll be okay with just being friends and then I'll hang out with you guys again."

"I still feel bad, like you're getting the raw deal."

"Nah, you're the one that's suffering more."

"Ok, well thanks for understanding." 

"Thanks for telling me, I really appreciate that you told me the truth."

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't get all the credit. Hermione's the one that told me to."

"She isn't called the brains of the trio for nothing."

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, I'll see you around I guess."

"Sure thing," and with that, Ginny bounced off and struck up a conversation with Luna.

Harry gave a sigh of relief, he'd been nervous about how that would go. He should've known it'd be fine though, anything Hermione told him to do always seemed to work out.

XXX

Through this whole interaction, Hermione was making excuses about finding birds to catch so that she could sneak out of Snape's quarters. She eventually found herself sprinting towards her rooms, weaving in between the wave of students' legs.

When she reached her room, she quickly changed into robes and sprinted, in human form this time, towards Potions. She arrived right as everyone was filing in, out of breath and panting.

"Five points from Gryffindor for distracting fellow students with that obnoxious racket, Miss Granger."

Hermione glared at him briefly before deciding she didn't have energy to do anything more. Harry whispered to her that he had a piece of toast for her and briefly mentioned that he'd taken her advice and talked to Ginny.

**I know this is shorter than usual, but I wanted to give you guys an update as a reward for so many reviews! Plus, I didn't end on a cliffy this time, which is nice I'm sure!**

**Please review!**


	11. Where Did the Trust Go?

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta, Severus' Malfoy Maiden**

_Last Time_

_When she reached her room, she quickly changed into robes and sprinted, in human form this time, towards Potions. She arrived right as everyone was filing in, out of breath and panting. _

"_Five points from Gryffindor for distracting fellow students with that obnoxious racket, Miss Granger."_

_Hermione glared at him briefly before deciding she didn't have energy to do anything more. Harry whispered to her that he had a piece of toast for her and briefly mentioned that he'd taken her advice and talked to Ginny._

Snape assigned them to make an explosion potion using the Wimbledon wood and phosphorous roots that he had previously lectured about. They all scurried to gather their ingredients and begin brewing. All of them were being extra careful; considering the type of potion, the consequences would be disastrous should they err.

Amazingly enough, the class passed without incident. Hermione was quite surprised, given the previous two lessons they'd had: the first where she blew up her potion, and the second where she and Snape got into an emotion-magic confrontation.

As they all cleared up their lab stations and turned in a sample of their potions, Snape called out, "Miss Granger, please stay behind after class."

Hermione waited until everyone left before approaching his desk, "Yes sir?"

"I presume you remember that your punishment for the little show you gave during the last class was a detention prior to your next Occlumency lesson?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, that will take place tonight, be here at six o'clock, you will be scrubbing all the old cauldrons without magic, and also without gloves."

Hermione glared at him momentarily, wondering where his apologetic side from the night before had gone. When he kept staring at her, she finally responded with a 'yes sir' before escaping to go to Transfiguration.

XXX

Lunch came and went without incident until Dumbledore announced more partner activities. She heard Snape groan quietly and found that she couldn't agree with him more.

"Today, we'll have an hour after lunch in which there will be no classes. We will all go outside and have games to play. These will force you to start trusting your partner more and allow you to get to know them in a non-academic setting."

Hermione glanced at Snape and found that his look of horror matched her own. What types of games could Dumbledore have planned? They found out once lunch had finished. They all filed out to the Quidditch pitch and Dumbledore once again called for their attention.

"First, we are going to do some trust games that are popular with Muggles, but we are doing them with a magic twist. For the first game, Muggles would have one partner close their eyes and fall backwards, having to trust that their partner would catch them. In our version, however, one partner will cast _Wingardium Leviosa _on the other and the other will have to repel it after the spell is cast. The lifted partner must trust that the caster will catch them as they fall to the ground."

Snape and Hermione looked at Dumbledore, and then at each other. Snape finally voiced both of their sentiments quietly, "the man has officially gone insane, senile, or both."

"Agreed."

However, wishing to avoid any more embarrassment, the two went along with it. Snape cast the spell on Hermione and sent her flying into the air. She repelled the spell and found herself falling through the air, only to land in his arms, which were so obviously stronger than they seemed. She leaned in slightly against a hard, strong chest and suddenly felt safe, secure, and pleasantly bewildered at the warm feelings that being embraced by him brought.

Hermione turned towards Snape, "Okay, should I cast you into the air?"

He scoffed, "Most definitely not. There is no way you will be able to catch me without killing us both."

"I'm stronger than you think, plus there's this great thing called magic that can assist me."

"No. Definitely not."

"But Professor, this is supposed to build our trust."

"Really? And how, exactly, am I supposed to trust you, especially when you most definitely don't trust me?"

"Sir, as I've told you before, I would trust my life to you."

"Words."

"You can perform Legilimency if you'd like more proof. I don't know where you're getting your 'information'", -Hermione crossed her fingers here, she had to pretend she wasn't completely aware of what had transpired at the last meeting with Voldemort-, "but I trust you completely and do not have one ounce of doubt as to your true loyalties," she quipped, frustrated at his lack of belief in her.

She could feel him probing the surface of her mind, trying to sense any dishonesty.

"The Dark Lord mentioned that you lost your trust in me."

"Sir, please. I knew that Voldemort was seeing everything that Harry did and so I figured I'd help him trust you more just in case I had mentioned anything about you helping me before."

"Keep to your own business, I don't need your help," Snape's voice sounded just as strict and gruff as always on the surface, but Hermione guessed that he was relieved to know that she still believed in him.

"Everyone needs help sir; no one can do things completely on their own."

"I can, so I don't need your interference, you insolent girl."

"As you wish, sir," Hermione's voice had taken on the same tone as Snape's as she felt her anger rise, "now, can we please continue with this _exercise_?"

"Most definitely not. You aren't going to se…" He was cut off as Hermione quickly cast the spell silently, feeling her annoyance fuel her actions. Snape shot up into the air before he quickly shielded her charm, not thinking about the consequences, since she wasn't completely prepared to catch him quite yet. He fell from the sky (at a height quite higher than the others since Hermione's anger made her spell a bit stronger) and Hermione raced to get beneath him. He landed in her arms, and while she was able to steady him, the running combined with the sudden weight crashing into her, was too much for her legs. She fell to the ground, and Snape landed roughly on top of her.

"Miss Granger, what, in Merlin's name, was _that_?" Snape lividly spat as his lip curled.

"Well, sir, I was simply practicing our Defense homework, we were supposed to practice our nonverbal spells. Did I accidentally hit you?" Hermione spit back sarcastically.

XXX

Over in another section of the field, Draco and Ginny were having slightly better luck with the exercise, at least they weren't about to bite each other's heads off.

Ginny tried to catch Draco, but they both crashed to the ground. Rather than getting mad, however, Draco simply laughed with her, got up and told her it was her turn. She looked at him nervously; she wasn't fond of the idea of flying without a broom underneath her.

Draco looked at her, "Ginny, I'll catch you, I promise. Just trust me."

"Okay," she whispered. She closed her eyes, trying to fight the nerves as she heard Draco cast the spell. She shot into the air and she nervously opened her eyes; a smile crept up on her face as she grew comfortable. Eventually, she repelled his spell and fell from the sky. She found herself cradled in his arms as he caught her as they both looked intently into the other's eyes. For Ginny, everything faded away into nothing except for Draco's piercing gaze. Not knowing what was compelling her to act, Ginny brought her lips quickly on to Draco's. He leaned back slightly, shocked at her impulsive move.

"I-I'm sorry, Draco, I don't know what came over me."

"Don't apologize, it just caught me by surprise."

"So does that mean if I hadn't caught you by surprise, you might've responded welcomingly?"

"Perhaps. I hadn't really thought of you that way, just because I don't think I know you that well. But there's a definite possibility; I won't lie, you're extremely attractive, but why don't we just take this partner thing as a way to get to know each other better, then we can see what happens next."

He put her back on her feet, giving her a slight smile to try and dissipate some of the tension. Neither noticed the small grin of the Headmaster as he saw the success of his plotting.

XXX 

After an afternoon filled with what some considered fun activities and others (cough Snape cough), dreadful frivolities, classes resumed and Hermione went down to the dungeons at 6.

She scrubbed all the cauldrons and floors without magic, glaring at Snape every time she had a moment to glance up. He studiously ignored her as he sat at his desk, grading papers.

After an hour had passed, he finally spoke up, "Miss Granger, that is enough for now. We will begin our lesson."

"Yes _sir_," Hermione tried to put as much contempt as possible into one word. She still hadn't gotten over their row that afternoon. She knew she should be focusing on calming herself and clearing her head of all thoughts, but, being her stubborn self, she just couldn't let go of her anger.

"_Legilimens_"

Once again, Hermione found herself in the dungeons and she looked at her and Snape in the scene right before the emotion-magic incident. This time, however, her brain seemed too riddled with anger to be able to expel him before he saw anything. Hermione watched her worst memory fly by, giving both her and Snape a play-by-play of what'd happened. She once again saw her uncle reach for her in vulgar desire and she recoiled, trying so hard to push Snape out of her head, yet finding herself overwhelmed by emotion and unable to. Finally, they reached the part where her uncle flew off of her.

She felt Snape pull out of her mind; she knew she was too weak to have repelled him. She collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face as sobs wracked her body. The humiliation, the guilt, the inferiority, the intense feelings of violation swept through her as she stared at the cold stones of the dungeon. She wished she could disappear; she didn't want pity or false condolences. No one understood what it was like to have been so hurt by someone who was supposed to be trustworthy.

Needing to escape, feeling too hurt and upset, Hermione got to her feet and sprinted toward the door. She reached for the handle and pulled, but found it locked. She kept trying; in her desperation she didn't even care that it was a fruitless attempt.

Hating how weak she sounded, Hermione whimpered, "Open the door, please."

"No."

"Sir, please. Just. Open. The. Damn. Door."

"No."

Hermione, once again feeling angry, whirled around to face him, "Why?" She screamed, "Just let me go. I've already scrubbed your precious dungeons, you've seen my innermost memories, anything else you'd like to demand?" Her voice had heightened to a dreadful screech. "Just open the door and let me go to my dormitory. Then maybe you can have a nice laugh at everything that you saw."

Her chest heaved as she caught her breath and she stood there, feeling annoyed at Snape's continuously-calm façade. He waited for her to start breathing normally before he commanded, "Sit down, Miss Granger."

Feeling rebellious, but deciding to follow him for reasons unknown, Hermione sat down and stared at him.

"You need to work through your pain."

"Really? And I should come to you for therapy?" Hermione wondered if she was spending too much time with him; she seemed to be using more sarcasm than he was these days.

**And you'll have to stay posted to see how the rest of their convo goes. Will Snape be able to help Hermione sift through her past and overcome the pain? Will she be able to do the same for him? Or will they just blow up at each other again? **

**In this chapter, and in the next, there will be/was some mild language. I apologize, I personally do not swear, but I feel that this scene would be unrealistic without the use of some expletives. I hope it doesn't offend anyone.**

**I'm really sorry for the long wait. School started up again (Senior year… woot woot). So, at the moment I'm just readjusting to school work. I'm sure as the school year goes on, updates will become more common again because I'll start getting bored in class and will write as the teachers talk. **

**I'm also getting surgery in a week, so depending on how I react to the anesthesia (I usually get pretty tired and sick), there might be a slight lag in updates. I WILL be sticking with this story though, so don't lose hope.**

**And reviews always make me want to write for you wonderful people. Until next time!**


	12. Therapy: Slytherin Style

**And I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I'm in post-op recovery (I feel like such an old lady saying that… I'm 17 and just had hip surgery).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Harry Potter **_**or any of its characters, those all belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden, the amazing beta!**

_Last Time_

_Her chest heaved as she caught her breath and she stood there, feeling annoyed at Snape's continuously-calm façade. He waited for her to start breathing normally before he commanded, "Sit down, Miss Granger."_

_Feeling rebellious, but deciding to follow him for reasons unknown, Hermione sat down and stared at him. _

"_You need to work through your pain."_

"_Really? And I should come to you for therapy?" Hermione wondered if she was spending too much time with him; she seemed to be using more sarcasm than he was these days. _

"I cannot pretend to be anything like a therapist. I'm not kind, nor am I compassionate. However, in this scenario, I can be… empathetic, and understanding."

"Sir?" Hermione couldn't help the slight twinge of curiosity at his words.

"Yes Miss Granger, I have experience in the realm of abuse and I can assure you that holding the pain inside doesn't help. You need to find a way to overcome this. Thus, I am offering my services to help you accomplish this."

Hermione looked at him, this man who made her so angry one second, so enthralled the next, and wondered at his words. She was skeptical, but the offer of someone to unload on was strangely tempting. She'd always wondered if her recovery would've been smoother had her parents sent her to therapy or even just talked to her about it. After the actual incident, it had become a forbidden topic, something that everyone was aware of, yet was never spoken aloud.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Why don't you describe how you felt during the situation."

Hermione, trying to ignore the awkwardness apparent in the room, started slowly, "well, I guess he was someone I always trusted- he was family. So when he led me up to my room, I never even suspected he could have anything but my best wishes planned. At the time, I didn't even really know what rape was, so it took me a while to realize what was happening. Granted, I knew the basics of sex, but I'd always heard of it as something that two people who love each other do. When I finally figured out what was going on, I felt really confused. Then when things, you know, progressed, I just felt… violated… hurt… and angry."

Hermione felt that as she continued, it became easier to talk, "I guess-" at this she had to pause as a she choked on a sob, she hadn't even realized that tears had begun racing down her cheeks, "I guess I just felt thrown, as if everything I ever trusted was shattered. I no longer knew what was true and right."

She stood up and faced the wall, hitting it with her fist, "the bastard son-of-a-bitch took away my innocence, crushed my peaceful oblivion, and decimated my happy childhood. I've spent the years trying to just forget it ever happened, trying to be the perfect daughter that I thought my parents wanted, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I find myself always hiding the true me, the one that still has no clue what is good and pure, no idea how to live without guilt and fear. No one seems to understand what it's like to have your innocence broken into a million little pieces. Normal people slowly shed their youthful innocence, but no, not me…"

She felt the sobs wrack through her body as she grasped the wall for support. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, and, unthinkingly, she turned and clutched Snape's cloak, pulling herself flush against his body as she cried into his chest. She sensed him tense under her touch, but after a few moments' hesitation, she felt his arms come around her, holding her tight and secure in her time of need.

"Hush child, you're safe."

Normally, Hermione would've frowned at being called 'child', she was a legal adult in the wizarding world, but in this scenario, it was the most calming word she could've heard. He was instating her childhood, saying that although her uncle had done unspeakable things to her, she could recover and regain that childlike wonder and innocence. She clutched him tighter as rounds of tears that had been repressed for years washed over her. She cried for her youth, her present, her trust-issues, and her shattered innocence. As the tears were starting to calm, she started to think about the man holding her… and the tears came back in a torrent. The man was supporting her during her time of need, _this_ man was not the one the rest of the world saw. As Suplina, and right now, as Hermione, she saw a different side of him. He hid, just as she did, behind a mask of indifference, using sarcasm and hurtful comments as his tool to fight people away; he couldn't trust others after being hurt too much. What was his comment at dinner the night before? When you get too close to fire, you _always _get burnt. She completely understood this feeling; granted, she at least had a façade of optimism, but truly, down deep, they were pretty similar. He'd probably been hurt more than she, but still, the origin of pain and rejection was the same for both. She stood in his embrace, surrounded by warmth and feeling so, so cold, crying for herself and for the man who held her. How did they end up like this? Both so in pain and unable to break out of the lives that they were leading.

Snape stood with her, solid in his embrace, yet slightly worried for the girl. She had cried, and seemed to calm herself, but then started up again in an outpour of sobs. He yearned to peek into her mind, but as her face was presently buried in his cloak, he was unable to; plus, she would know what he was doing and he didn't want to betray her trust.

After a few moments, Hermione finally calmed herself with some deep breaths, trying to inconspicuously wipe her nose and eyes, hoping her face wasn't too ugly with huge splotches or anything. Feeling calmer, she looked up slowly, planning on thanking Snape, only to be confronted with deep black orbs that pulled her into their depths. Her eyes dropped slightly to be confronted with pink, luscious lips that were begging for hers to bless with a kiss. She found herself momentarily leaning forward… being drawn in by his eyes… so close to her mark… her heaven, waiting to descend upon her… a throat clearing… _'What? Hermione, what are you thinking?'_ her mind screamed; she quickly backed away, remembering herself. _'Oh man, I almost kissed him. Oh gosh, oh gosh. Okay, calm, hooo, breathe, okay.'_

She looked up once again to see Snape looking slightly disgruntled and clearing his throat.

"Sir, thank you, it did help."

"Yes, well, good. Make sure to practice your Occlumency, your blocking skills were in dreadful shape today."

"Yes sir."

"Our next meeting will be the day after tomorrow, make sure to be here at six pm sharp."

"I will sir."

She watched him as he turned and stalked back to his desk. Remembering herself, she turned and walked toward the door. Just like the other night, she turned right as she was about to leave, "goodnight sir."

This time he actually glanced up at her and nodded. Hermione walked back to her room and fell into the bed.

"What just happened?" She whispered to the ceiling.

Xxx

Snape glanced at the papers he was supposedly correcting, "What just happened?" he whispered.

**Sorry it's shorter than normal! I didn't want to load a whole bunch of emotions on you though, plus it's a more difficult than normal to write since my leg is hooked up to a machine that keeps it moving. My laptop's perched on my stomach as my arms are hunched to type (: **

**Review please! I promise that it helps me to write when my email has a bunch of little notes from you wonderful readers!**


	13. Contemplation

**Sorry for the wait… college applications are ridiculously stressful (actually the teacher rec letters are the worst part!). But here it is, finally! Hope you all enjoy.**

**As always, much thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her beta skills!**

_Last Time_

_Just like the other night, she turned right as she was about to leave, "goodnight sir."_

_This time he actually glanced up at her and nodded. Hermione walked back to her room and fell into the bed. _

"_What just happened?" She whispered to the ceiling._

_Xxx_

_Snape glanced at the papers he was supposedly correcting, "What just happened?" he whispered._

Hermione sat in her room. She knew that she needed to spend some time thinking through the confusing new feelings that were racing though her. So, of course, she decided she would look at it all logically; after all, there wasn't any problem that couldn't be resolved with logic, right?

She began with the initial moment of attraction when his eyes sparked desire deep within her soul… no, no, no, she scolded herself. Okay, his 'come hither' eyes forced her to look to his lips; his normal, _not _enticing, lick-your-own-lips yummy-ness, just lips. And before she knew it, she was leaning in and planning to find out exactly what flavor Snape's pudding had been at dinner.

If Snape was blessed with a drop-dead sexy body that left women, and some men as well, panting in his wake, her reaction might've been more explainable. But, while he possessed a regal look, his appearance was definitely one that depended on the eye of the beholder to find attractive. Plus, Hermione had made eye-contact with him many times in the six previous years. With all of her Occlumency lessons, eye-contact was necessary, as it was when he called on her during class.

So it didn't start with the eye-contact… what then? She though through the emotional turmoil before the eye contact. First, there was the 'work through the pain' moment where he told her she needed to get help. Then he made her vocally describe her feelings. Of course, then came her moment of anger when she hit the wall, and finally, she was soothed by his rather warm and comforting embrace… '_Oh, it was prince charming syndrome!' _she realized, '_He saves me from my "crisis" and then we ride away together into the sunset'_. Feeling relieved that she'd worked through the ridiculous feelings that were in no way real and would definitely be gone in the morning, Hermione sighed in relief thanking whatever deity blessed her with the ability to think logically and headed toward the library.

XXX

Meanwhile, Snape was thinking over the exact same situation in his mind. First, he'd been almost… nice, to the Gryffindor princess of all people! And then he'd _held _her, not just a quick hug or an arm over the shoulder, but a long, close embrace. He wondered whether his natural defense mechanisms had decided to go for a picnic that night or something. Any other time, he would've thrown her off, or at least pushed her away when she turned to him for comfort, but not that night apparently. No, Severus Snape, feared Potions Master, was comforting a lioness in the depths of his dungeons.

That, of course, had brought its own problems. He had a…-er-…reaction to the girl pressed so tightly to his body. He growled even as the heat rushed to his core while he remembered. With all of his work as a spy, he had signed off women as a lost cause. Since he lost his chance with Lily back in his fifth year, he'd had no serious relationships. With the exception of the few, rare one-night stands, his bed had been empty. His body, while obviously capable of performing, rarely became aroused, simply because he'd trained himself not to. He considered it a weakness if his body betrayed his feelings. For this reason, he was incredibly surprised when his body had its first unconscious reaction in years to his _student_. He knew that sometimes sexual attraction could come from unlikely sources, but never would he have imagined it coming from the Gryffindor symbol of chastity and purity. Although, he supposed it did make sense in a crude, hard facts of life sort of way. He was perfectly aware that his soul was blackened by years of deceit and murder. Obviously something that black would want to be cleansed by the white purity of Hermione's soul. Hermione… Miss Granger, he corrected himself sternly. He wondered if she realized how pure her soul was. He knew that many rape, or in her case, attempted-rape, victims considered themselves tainted. However, as even his Slytherins had been known to refer to her as the Gryffindor virgin saint, he was pretty sure that plenty of people would testify to the fact that she was most definitely unstained.

He finally stopped his pretense of grading essays, knowing it was a fruitless attempt. He turned on his shower, and with a glance downwards, turned the temperature to a freezing degree. He gasped as he got in and shivered as he waited for certain pieces of his anatomy to settle down. He dropped his head back as the water poured over his face, hoping that as the water trickled down his body, his mind would be cleared of all the decidedly _impure _thoughts about his student.

During his fruitless attempt at cleansing both his mind and body, said student was completing her homework quickly in the library. She'd finished thinking logically about her reaction to Snape and was not thinking about it at all now… or so she told herself. In reality, every minute or so, her mind flashed back to the feel of his arms around her and the desire she felt when his eyes connected with her own. Although, it was weird- his wand had been poking her stomach through his robes. Normally, wizards put their wands up their sleeves, but apparently he stuck his in a pocket. Even stranger was the fact that she found if surprisingly arousing.

Focus, focus, Hermione reprimanded herself, 'you need to finish so you can transform into Suplina.'

XXX

As she wrapped up in the library, silently cursing Snape for the multitude of homework he dished out and for being the reason for her lack of concentration, Hermione hurried up to her room.

"Hey Draco, I'm going to do some runs, you good?"

"Yeah…" He seemed strangely quiet and normally, Hermione would've stayed to figure out what was wrong, but she had too many things on her mind. She quickly ran up to her rooms to drop off her books then ran out the door again.

After doing a quick scan of the school, she transformed into Suplina and went into Snape's rooms. She found him staring aimlessly into the fire when she arrived. She jumped into his lap and snuggled against him. He didn't make any sound to signify that he'd noticed her, but his hand began running slowly down her fur. Hermione purred as she relaxed into his wonderful warmth.

Within minutes, she had fallen asleep so she never heard his whispered words, "Hermione Granger, what have you done?"

**I'm sooo sooo sorry for the long wait. I don't know what happened, I'll just say all the college stuff is ridiculous and hopefully you'll all forgive me! I really will try and update soon!**


	14. Emotions and Fear

**Hello everyone, thanks to all of you who reviewed! And thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her superb beta skills!**

_Last Time_

_Hermione purred as she relaxed into his wonderful warmth. Within minutes, she had fallen asleep so she never heard his whispered words, "Hermione Granger, what have you done?"_

The next morning, Hermione felt wonderfully rested from sleeping on Snape's lap as she entered the staff meeting that she and Draco were required to attend. She saw Professor Flitwick standing alone and headed towards him.

"Good morning, Professor."

"Oh, Miss Granger," he squeaked, "How are you this lovely morning?"

"Good professor. Listen, I had a question about the Poripherus charm we were doing in class yesterday? I was thinking about it and I wanted to get your opinion. If we were to change the arm motion from a diagonal slash to more of a swoop, would the bird song come out more clearly?"

"I'd never thought of that. It's a good thought. Remind me in class and we'll test it out."

"Yes sir."

"Our Miss Granger is _quite _the incredible student, isn't she?" the drawling voice of Snape suddenly flowed over Hermione.

"Oh Severus, don't be jealous that she's already surpassed your knowledge of charms," Professor McGonagall spoke up.

"Oh, I assure you, I feel in no way threatened by her _intelligence_," he responded pejoratively.

Hermione felt completely and totally confused. Where had the sweet and caring man from the day before gone? Did she anger him somehow? She had no idea.

After sitting through yet another meeting where Dumbledore was way too happy for an elderly man, Hermione found herself walking next to Professor Snape as they made their way to the Great Hall.

"Professor, forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, but did I do anything to upset you?"

"No, Miss Granger."

Okay, she thought to herself, maybe he's just PMSing? She giggled to herself.

They continued on in silence as they both were lost in thoughts concerning the other.

XXX

Draco was a wreck. All last night the violent images of his father brutally murdering his mother raced through his head, preventing him from obtaining any sort of peace of mind. He'd woken up sobbing uncontrollably this morning before he could pull up the expected nonchalance. He couldn't suppress the fear that his father would soon come after him as he'd threatened to do once Draco turned to the Order.

He trudged wearily to breakfast, trying to suppress the overwhelming emotions that threatened to suffocate him. He finally reached the table and sat next to Ginny, trying to keep up an emotionless façade.

"Draco, you alright?"

"Just fine, thanks."

"You look exhausted."

He nodded, "Just a bit."

He tried to discourage Ginny from questioning him further by putting on a disinterested tone and she understood, dropping the inquisition for a time; but Draco had a sinking feeling that she would bring it up again.

XXX

Meanwhile, Hermione and Snape were having an argument, albeit a quiet one conducted in whispers.

"Why are you refusing to speak with me Professor? Please just tell me if I did something, I'm sorry if I did," Hermione whispered, frustrated at his rapid mood changes.

"It is nothing you did, Miss Granger; it is something of a personal matter that I am working through," Snape responded, equally frustrated at her incessant questions.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"No, I would not like to talk about it. I don't need a therapist."

"Funny, I seem to remember saying those same words to you, but you were oh so adamant that I needed to speak through my problems," Hermione began to fume. Who did he think he was to demand that she talk through her personal issues, but refused to open up at all about his own personal life?

Snape was quiet for a while, "Forgive me, Miss Granger, I do not want you to think that I underestimate the courage it took for you to tell me what you did. I do not take your trust for granted. There are just some things that I am unable to share."

Hermione's anger deflated, "I'm sorry sir, I shouldn't have pushed you. Maybe I'm still overly emotional and didn't realize it."

"It is no fault of yours if you are," he mumbled, and then, as if second guessing his relaxation, stood suddenly, "I must prepare for my next class. If you are amenable, I am free tonight at 7 for another lesson."

"Yes sir."

He swooped away, keeping a constant glare on the students that he seemed certain would rise in rebellion within seconds. Hermione watched him go, shaking her head at the walking PMS man.

XXX

"Prepare yourself Miss Granger," Hermione braced herself for Snape's intrusion into her mind. She saw flashes of her childhood before she focused on pulling all of her thoughts out of Snape's grasp. Within seconds, she could once again see the Potions classroom and felt a whoop of success in her gut.

"I did it!" Hermione jumped around, excited. She could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile cross Snape's face before he quickly covered it up.

"Indeed Miss Granger. Now, let's try again."

She felt him probing even more intensely than before, obviously testing her endurance. Once again, she pushed against him, and, while it took longer than the time before, was able to expel him.

Snape tested her again and again, and while it quickly became difficult, Hermione was successful in getting Snape out of her mind every time.

"Adequate Miss Granger, you've obviously gotten the hang of pushing me out. Now we must work on your endurance."

"Thanks Professor."

"I think that will be enough for tonight."

"Goodnight Professor."

"Goodnight Miss Granger," he acknowledged.

XXX

Within an hour, Hermione had transformed into Suplina and was once again in the presence of the Potions Master. They were curled up on a couch with Snape reading and Suplina, inconspicuously, reading as well.

Everything was peaceful until Snape jerked up in pain, grabbing his arm.

"Is it the Dark Lord?"

"Yes."

"I'm coming," she asserted.

"Very well, stay hidden in my pocket."

XXX

Draco sat in the common room that he and Hermione shared, staring at his forearm and the writhing black snake on it. It wasn't until he noticed the wet spot that dropped onto it that he realized he was crying. When he looked at his arm, he saw the other Voldemort followers, he saw his father, and he heard his mother's screams as she died right in front of his eyes.

He was shaken from his contemplation and wallowing by a red head bouncing into the room. Draco tried to quickly wipe his eyes and pull his sleeve down, but Ginny had already noticed. She sat down beside him and brought the sleeve back up and helped him wipe his tears with her thumbs.

"Do you want to talk?"

"I'm not sure."

Ginny grabbed his head and pulled it towards her as Draco broke down and began sobbing against her shoulder.

"There there, let it out."

"I just- I just always see my mum's face and I feel like it's my fault. I should've seen it coming, done something to protect her, you know? I should've realized that my father was an evil bastard and done the proper thing as a son and taken care of her."

"Draco, you couldn't have known. I'm sure your mum loved you so much and appreciated what a great son you are. She would want you to move past this. Grieve the loss of your mother, but learn from her. Let her life inspire you to work for the life, work to save people who might be killed like she was."

Draco looked up at Ginny, expecting to see pity in her eyes, but instead saw compassion and understanding. The overwhelming sensations of having someone comfort, while not pitying, him left him feeling almost drunk. He leaned forward, needing to show her how much she meant to him. Their lips met, softly at first and then more fiercely as Draco felt the need to be fully comforted and loved.

Ginny, on the other hand, felt conflicted. She really liked Draco, obviously, as she initiated their first kiss, but she didn't want to be used. She was pretty sure that Draco was just trying to find comfort and didn't have fully founded feelings for her yet. However, the sensations flooding through her as his lips attacked her own were difficult to ignore.

"Mmm- Draco, we need to stop- oh- we're not, not ready for this yet."

"Why not? Ginny, I really like you, I want this."

"No, Draco, no. You're not in your right mind, you were just grieving your mother…" She was cut off by his lips once again; she felt extremely tempted to just give in to the feel of his body against her own… how had they ended up horizontal on the couch anyways?

"Draco, stop. You need to listen to me. I want to do this. I really do, but now's not the time."

Draco pulled up and stared at her, "You really should consider a career in torture."

"Do you want to play a game instead?"

Draco looked at her, exasperated, "Okay, but nothing even slightly suggestive, otherwise I cannot be held accountable if I jump you."

"Deal," Ginny agreed with a laugh.

XXX

"Once upon a time," Voldemort hissed, "There were just wizards that were pure and they stuck together. Now, however, Mudbloods from Muggle whores are infiltrating the magical world. We must work together to defeat them all. Tonight, you will all prove your allegiance to our cause. We are going a-Muggle huntin', boys."

Hermione shivered in Snape's cloak, how could this man be so evil? When Voldemort began assigning groups and giving house numbers, she held her breath, waiting to see if she knew any of the names. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't and then felt guilty: yes, she didn't know them, but someone did. For someone out there in the world, one of the names on the list might be the most important person in their life.

Snape got his list and she saw him calculating how he would save them without it being obvious.

"Severus, you get the honor of my company. I will be joining you on your quest."

She felt his sharp intake of breath which was the only clue that he was less than happy about the turn of events. On the outside, Hermione was sure he looked completely composed, "It would be a pleasure my lord."

Hermione felt his hand slip into the pocket where she was hiding and squeeze lightly. She licked his hand in the hope of giving him some type of encouragement.

**Oh no! What will happen? So, interesting news in my life: with some friends I founded a Harry Potter club at my school which is super fun.**

**Review please, it seriously makes my day and helps me write faster! Also, I always keep requests for plot ideas in mind, so if there's a certain scene or theme you'd like to see at some point, let me know!**


	15. Emotionless Disdain

**Hello all, once again, very sorry for the wait. Life gets crazy sometimes and it's difficult to write. I would promise that the next one will come faster, but I don't want to lie to yall, so just cross your fingers! **

**Every chapter, I entertain myself by writing things with Suplina and Snape that would sound so wrong if it were Hermione and Sevvie and someone didn't know the context… feel free to look for those moments, if you leave a review with some of them, I'll let you know if those are the phrases I had in mind. **

**Thanks to my lovely beta, Severus' Malfoy Maiden!**

_Last Time_

_Snape got his list and she saw him calculating how he would save them without it being obvious. _

"_Severus, you get the honor of my company. I will be joining you on your quest."_

_She felt his sharp intake of breath which was the only clue that he was less than happy about the turn of events. On the outside, Hermione was sure he looked completely composed, "It would be a pleasure my lord."_

_Hermione felt his hand slip into the pocket where she was hiding and squeeze lightly. She licked his hand in the hope of giving him some type of encouragement._

Snape maintained his emotionless façade on the surface, however, he was the opposite of composed in his mind. There was no way around it, he would have to kill Muggles; he would just have to try and make their deaths as painless as possible. He knew even that would be a stretch with Voldemort accompanying him.

He suddenly felt something wet on his hand and realized that he had unconsciously grasped Suplina for comfort and she was now licking him. He kept his hold on her and helped himself focus by petting her and feeling her rough tongue caress his hand. He didn't risk speaking to her over the connection as he was unsure if Voldemort would be able to hear it via Legilimency. Either way, even without her voice in his head, he was surprisingly comforted by her presence.

With quick pops in succession, most of the Death Eaters disapparated, leaving to go to their victims. Snape took a deep breath before looking at his mortal enemy.

"Let's be off," Voldemort hissed.

"Indeed," with an intake of breath both to prepare himself for Apparition and to avoid puking, Snape spun into the air.

Within seconds, he opened his eyes only to find himself in front of a cozy looking house with whitewashed walls and blue shutters. His heart contracted painfully as he watched a woman kiss a little boy on the forehead, obviously telling him to sleep well. His mind snapped and he watched himself from afar, unable to comprehend the actions he must take. He walked forward with Voldemort and pretended to find joy in the screams of terror. He barely even knew what had passed when, three hours later, he arrived back in Hogsmeade. All he knew was that there must be no doubt in Voldemort's mind as to where his loyalties lie.

He trudged back to his room and got in the shower, still in shock. After emerging, the events of the night came flooding back as his brain connected to his body once again.

_Snape walked into the house with Voldemort. The little boy was the first to see him, he seemed wary, wondering why a stranger was in his house. It wasn't until he saw the grotesque snake disfigurement of Voldemort that he let out a scream. His mother, not realizing the cause of his fright, ran towards her son and knelt beside him, asking what was wrong. Without words, the boy pointed to what was behind her. _

_She turned, and her expression changed from fear to determination. _

"_Tommy, go call the police and then call your father." Tommy looked for a moment between his mother and the two men before racing off to do as she said. Unfortunately, for him, he did not get far. _

"_Stupefy", Voldemort hissed lazily with a flick of his wand. The boy stood frozen. The mother, obviously confused, looked back at him, "Tommy, do as I said." He never moved. _

"_Now, Severus, it is your choice what you will do with them, but I would suggest increasing the mother's suffering by having her watch her son die."_

"_No," the woman pleaded, "kill me if you must, let my son live."_

"_Silence bitch," Snape growled. He grabbed the boy and brought him in front of his mother. "Avad…"_

"_No," Voldemort hissed, "death would be too easy Severus, don't you understand? This is supposed to be fun. What's the fun in just killing them all quickly? Severus, don't make me doubt your loyalties. I know you have the power to inflict pain." _

_Detaching himself even further from the task at hand, Severus whispered, "Crucio" and watched expressionless as the boy writhed in pain and the mother screamed from where Voldemort had bound her. "No, no, stop doing that, please, whatever it is you're doing, take me instead. PLEASE!"_

_At her pleas, Snape's insides broke. He knew he could not keep up the torture. He managed to grind out, "watch as your son dies," before he shouted "Avada Kedavra!" and watched as the young boy's body crumpled to the ground._

_The mother's cries echoed throughout the house as the door suddenly opened with a slam and a man came running in. "How dare you!" he yelled as he prepared to jump on top of Voldemort. With a flick of his wand, the man lay writhing on the ground as Voldemort looked at him carelessly. _

_When it got to the point where the man's eyeballs rolled back in his head, Voldemort finally looked at Snape, "why don't you show him that nifty spell you invented, Severus?"_

_Snape looked towards the man. "Sectumsempra," within moments, it was over as the man's blood spilled across the floor. Snape, still holding onto that necessary detachment saving him from combining his vomit with the blood, jerked his head around at the woman's desperate pleas,_

"_Please, whatever shred of decency you have within you, if any at all, just kill me now! Please, you've stolen everything else that I have!"_

_Snape, not looking at Voldemort in case he didn't approve, quickly cast the Killing Curse for the second time that night. The woman's body crumpled to the ground and an eerie silence fell over the house. _

"_I believe we're done here," Voldemort hissed as he kicked the man's corpse aside._

"_Yes, my Lord, and with your permission, I believe I must return to Hogwarts. The old codger will get suspicious if I'm gone for too long."_

"_Of course Severus, you truly are one of my most dedicated followers, sacrificing fun to keep your cover."_

"_There is no sense of loss on my part when the sacrifice is for you, my Lord." Snape felt the bile rise in his throat as he spit out the lies. _

"_As it should. Until next time Severus."_

"_My Lord," Severus bowed at the Dark Lord's feet until he heard the pop of Apparition that signaled Voldemort's departure. He took a deep breath and prepared to return to Hogwarts._

Snape fell to the ground, cursing himself, cursing Voldemort, and feeling the overwhelming guilt consume him. He couldn't do this anymore! The detachment allowed him to accomplish the job, but it made 'waking up' to consciousness all the worse. His breath quickened as he recalled the screams of the woman and the poor boy lying crumpled on the ground. Finally, his stomach could not handle the images bombarding his brain and he rid himself of his dinner, hating himself all the while for what he had done. He could picture what Dumbledore would tell him were he there, "it's all for the cause Severus, the greater good, none of it was your fault." Bullocks! Snape wished there had been an alternate solution; surely he could have done _something_. He was a vile creature, and he knew it. He lay on the ground with the smell of his own vomit assaulting his nose, upsetting his stomach just as much as the images that wouldn't stop running through his thoughts.

He jumped when he glimpsed feet standing next to him and, within seconds, his wand was trained on the intruder. He saw, much to his surprise, Hermione Granger staring back at him with her hands raised in surrender. He wished he wasn't so weak, he didn't want one of his students to see him in this moment, and yet, he couldn't find the strength to keep up his normal façade. Instead, he collapsed back on the ground and told her to go away.

Obviously, the know-it-all would choose this moment not to listen to his directions.

He heard her mutter, _Evanesco_, and couldn't help but admit slight relief at the absence of the vile odor. She began making quiet clucking noises as she wiped a washcloth across his face. She never spoke, never asked him to explain himself, and never asked questions. She was a quiet presence in the middle of Snape's storm, helping him through the darkness within his soul as he struggled to reach the light.

**Once again, sorry for the wait, I'll try not to go a month between updates this time. I know I always get annoyed when authors take a long time to update, and I feel like such a hypocrite! **

**On another note, 4 DAYS TIL THE HARRY POTTER PREMIERE! I'm going at midnight (and then getting up at 6:30 the next morning for school, yay for no sleep!) and I'm soooo excited. I'm going to try and get the next update out before the premiere, but once again, no promises.**

**Leave a review, I promise they help me write faster!**


	16. The Dawn of a Day

**Ahh, you guys! You're all so sweet in your reviews, I just had to write another chapter… so yay for 2 updates in a week!**

**Just so yall know, this chapter hasn't been beta'd cause I wanted to get it up before the premiere, but know that anything wrong would've been wonderfully corrected by Severus' Malfoy Maiden had I included her in the editing process!**

_Last Time_

_Obviously, the know-it-all would choose this moment not to listen to his directions._

_He heard her mutter, Evanesco, and couldn't help but admit slight relief at the absence of the vile odor. She began making quiet clucking noises as she wiped a washcloth across his face. She never spoke, never asked him to explain himself, and never asked questions. She was a quiet presence in the middle of Snape's storm, helping him through the darkness within his soul as he struggled to reach the light. _

Hermione listened to the screams and could only guess as to what was happening inside the house. She felt sick just hearing everything, she could only imagine how Snape felt, being the one who had to deliver the blows.

Finally, she heard everything go quiet and listened as Voldemort left. When she finally emerged from the cloak, she observed Snape carefully and realized his lack of response. He obviously was in shock and had closed himself off to all emotions. She waited thoughtfully as he showered and emerged. She saw the emotions play on his face as he obviously relived the night, now coherently, and found herself unable to resist doing something for him in his moment of extreme pain.

She knew it was risky, but just this once, she would have to take the chance. She swiftly ran near the door and transformed into herself. She never spoke, too worried that he would connect her voice with Suplina's and figure everything out. Plus, she had a feeling he just needed to be cared for in his moment of need, not spoken to.

After cleaning up the area around him and rubbing his face with a washcloth, she noticed his breathing deepen as he drifted into a deep sleep. She levitated him into his bed and settled herself in a chair next to him, preparing herself for a dreadful night's sleep.

XXX

Snape awoke with a massive headache, feeling extremely disoriented, a strange occurrence for him as he usually was in complete control of, well, everything. He did, however, feel as if someone was watching him. That someone was Hermione Granger.

He simply stared at her, willing his mind to connect the current circumstances to the past, and finally, he began to remember what had occurred the previous night. As Snape remembered, he realized why it took so long for him to recall, every fiber of his being shied away from the memories with horror. He groaned as he realized that Granger must've been in the room the whole night; how was he supposed to command respect in the classroom if she'd seen him at his worst moment?

"How did you get in here?" Snape grunted.

"A cat led me in."

"Suplina," Snape muttered.

"Is she yours?"

"It's none of your business, Miss Granger. Was she in the room last night?"

"Yes sir, she left about an hour ago." Hermione crossed her fingers behind her back.

Snape was silent, and contented himself with simply glaring at Hermione as if something about her personally offended him.

"Sir, can I get you some water or something?"

"No, I don't need your help. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to be alone to prepare for the day."

"As you wish."

Snape threw on his cloak after splashing his face with water and, with a deep breath, exited the room with a flurry of robes. He entered the Great Hall and glanced at the Golden Trio, except he didn't see them at the Gryffindor table.

It wasn't until he glanced up at the Head table that he remembered the 'dates'. He had a feeling his day was going to get progressively worse. He now got to sit next to Hermione Granger after rudely shoving her out of his room. Perfect. He sat down without a word or a glance in Hermione's direction. He did, however, look at the other two members of the Golden Trio, expecting them to be laughing at his expense. They did not seem to realize anything was different, though, as they went about their normal morning breakfast routine.

At the realization that no one besides Miss Granger knew about the situation that he had been in last night, Snape turned questioningly towards her with his eyebrow raised. He found that she looked more exhausted than normal, but was returning his gaze evenly.

"Are you going to hold the events of the previous night against me as blackmail?"

"No sir, of course not. No one else knows, and no one will know, unless you want them to of course."

"No, I would prefer this remain behind doors."

Hermione simply nodded in acknowledgement and Snape once again was left questioning who she truly was. She obviously wanted to help him, and she proved her trustworthiness over and over again, but for some reason, he always felt as if she were hiding something. Perhaps it was just paranoia from his years as a spy. And add into the equation that it'd recently dawned on him how attractive she was, and his brain made her into a true threat. Possible secrecy coupled with attraction was never good for Snape, as he'd learned in the past.

Movement in one of the tables caught Snape's eye and he glanced over to see Dumbledore standing up, obviously preparing to make an announcement. Silence fell over the hall.

"Just a reminder for everyone, the ball is tomorrow and you should all be dressed up and ready to go by eight. We will have a late lunch and then the feast will be a part of the ball. In preparation for your night of fun with your date, we will be having some activities today."

Snape and Hermione groaned simultaneously as they remembered the last time they had "fun time" with chagrin.

"Today will be a bit different, however, as we are going to get you in the spirit of Halloween. We are going to go on a type of scavenger hunt. You will all receive lists of what you must obtain by eight tonight. Also, along the way, you will find clues to ways you can receive extra points. Have bunches of fun!"

With that, individual lists popped up on each person's plate. Hermione began reading through hers and squeaked when she reached the end.

"What was the sound you just made Miss Granger? I understand that you may have self-confidence issues, but imitating a mouse is not going to help you any."

Hermione just glared at Snape before saying, slightly breathlessly, "Sir, I just read the prizes for the winners, there is a trip to Hawaii paid for during the summer as well as access to special bathrooms in Hogwarts."

"As I don't have to live in a dormitory, the bathroom is not particularly motivating, but I will admit that a vacation does sound… tempting." He seemed to mull the idea for a while before turning to Hermione with a determined glint in his eye, "Miss Granger, we are going to win this competition. No questions asked, we will go to all ends to obtain this."

"Yes sir!"

**Okay, this is shorter than normal, but I wanted to uphold my tentative promise to get another chapter up before the premiere, so I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**Have so much fun at the movie everyone! And thanks sooo much for all your reviews so far, they definitely help me write faster!**


	17. Let the Hunt Begin!

***Hides face*… I know it's been a very long time, so I'm sorry for the wait. This chapter's about double the size of my prior-to-this longest chapter, so hopefully that makes up for the wait!**

**On another note, I'd love to hear what you all thought about the HP movie, I thought it was good. And, of course, I always love reviews!**

**Severus' Malfoy Maiden is a fabulous beta!**

**J.K. Rowling owns **_**Harry Potter **_**and all the characters that lie within, I just play with them mercilessly to fit my own selfish desires.**

**Enjoy the reading!**

_Last Time_

"_As I don't have to live in a dormitory, the bathroom is not particularly motivating, but I will admit that a vacation does sound… tempting." He seemed to mull the idea for a while before turning to Hermione with a determined glint in his eye, "Miss Granger, we are going to win this competition. No questions asked, we will go to all ends to obtain this."_

"_Yes sir!"_

They quickly put their heads together and began going through the list. Hermione realized that the lists must've been customized to each individual pair. They would have to Apparate to different locations to get the items on their list. Obviously, the pairs that didn't have wizard with an Apparition license would need to stay on the school grounds.

"Sir, should we attempt to gather everything that we know is at Hogwarts, then Hogsmeade, and from there, Apparate anywhere else we need to go?"

"That should work. Obviously, the potions ingredients can be found in my personal stores- really, what was Albus thinking? Is he even trying to make this difficult?- We can figure out where else we'll need to go after we've gathered ingredients."

Hermione, glancing at the list once again, realized that they would need to acquire a camera.

"I have one stowed away in my quarters somewhere, we can use that," Snape responded upon hearing Hermione's discovery.

They headed in the direction of his rooms; thankfully, due to the events of the previous night, Hermione didn't have to pretend she was simply following Snape. They walked next to each other, discussing how they would be most efficient at finding everything on the list.

They scanned it over once again:

-Jar of hellebore

-Take a goofy picture on the Astronomy Tower

-Do something that frightens you and take a picture

-Get a bottle of Butterbeer from an unlikely source

-Discover your future: purchase a fortune cookie and see what's inside

-Acquire costumes for Halloween and go to a pumpkin patch. Purchase a pumpkin and take a picture with it in your costumes.

-Find Muggle candy not found in wizarding stores.

-Go into the Forbidden Forest and go swimming- take a picture

-Find some unicorn hair

-Find some Muggle currency

-Make friends with a house-elf: picture time!

-Have a unique lunch at a restaurant neither person has been to

-Take a picture with both team members wearing all blue

-Find a chocolate fountain

-Go on a rollercoaster

-Find your heart's deepest desire

Extra points:

-Find a book that neither partner has read, read together, and summarize

-Defeat Voldemort (just kidding…)

"Only Dumbledore would joke about defeating the Dark Lord on a scavenger hunt," Snape stated, looking at the list incredulously.

Hermione simply smiled and paused as they reached the doors to Snape's chambers. Should she go in? Little to his knowledge, she was in there every night; to his knowledge, she was only in there last night. She decided to err on the side of caution and planned to wait outside while he retrieved the camera. Her plans were ruined, however, when Snape stood in his doorway looking at her expectantly, "well, are you coming?"

"Ye-yes, sir," She walked in hesitantly, wondering about his relaxed state.

Reading her thoughts like an open book, Snape told her, "I figured it's nothing you haven't seen before."

"Were you just using Occlumency on me?" Hermione asked, her voice laden with concern.

"Use your brain, of course not. When I use Occlumency, you will see the memories I'm dragging up. Same with your thoughts, if I were actually in your mind, I would process everything a second later than you thought it, thus there would be an echo to your thoughts," Snape told her, instructively.

"Oh, that makes sense. How did you know what I was thinking then?"

"Your face gives your thoughts away. For a practiced Legilimens it is reasonably easy to tell what you're thinking, even without actually delving into your mind."

"Oh. Could we work on that in my lessons as well?" Hermione hated thinking she had a weakness that Voldemort could use.

"Perhaps, we'll stick to the basics of Occlumency first though. Now, if you're done questioning me, shall we proceed with the Scavenger Hunt?"

That broke Hermione from her train of thought. "Oh right, of course."

She waited in the living room while Snape went off in search of his camera. When he returned, she was occupied in looking over the titles of his various books in the library. She would often stare at them from afar in her Animagus form, but as she would most definitely give herself away by having an interest in books as a cat, this was the first time she was able to observe them closely.

As they walked towards the potions classroom to retrieve the hellebore and unicorn hair, Snape began questioning her, "What are you afraid of? We'll need you to face whatever it is… on camera."

"Why do I have to be the one to confront my fears?"

"Because facing mine would not be plausible in the eight hour time frame we have."

"Which is...?"

He responded with silence- really, what more did she expect?- until a few minutes later when he reminded her that she still had not owned up to her fear.

"Alright, fine. I'm afraid of flying. Happy?"

"Perfectly so. That should be reasonably easy to conquer and capture on camera."

Hermione sighed as he went inside his potions stores briefly and packed the hellebore and unicorn hair away in one the many pockets in his voluptuous robes.

"I know how we can incorporate a few of the tasks in one spot." Hermione hesitantly spoke up.

"And that would be?"

"Well, if we go down to the kitchens, we can talk to Dobby and he'll love to take a picture with us, so that accomplishes the 'befriending an elf' part, plus, I'm sure he'll get us a bottle of Butterbeer. He should count as an unlikely source. I bet he'll also be able to make a chocolate fountain for us. So, we can kill three birds with one stone."

"Know-it-all," Snape responded teasingly. Hermione was hard-pressed to hide a smile, she knew he was secretly impressed and was reverting to his overused insult towards her to hide his sentiments.

As Hermione had expected, Dobby was ready and willing to help. After taking a picture with them (where Hermione and Dobby smiled and Snape simply grimaced), Dobby gave them both bottles of Butterbeer and whipped up a chocolate fountain. With a moan of pleasure, Hermione tasted a strawberry dipped in chocolate while posing for a picture. She decided she might just sneak down more often to have some of that.

After accomplishing everything they needed there, they headed up to the Astronomy Tower to take yet another picture.

"Alright sir, we're supposed to take a- and I quote- 'goofy picture'".

"That won't be happening."

"Sir?"

"Can't you take the picture alone?"

"No, it's obvious that they want us both in the shot."

"Miss Granger, let's make one thing perfectly clear right now: I Do Not Do 'Goofy'".

"Do you want to go to Hawaii or not?"

With a glare that would send First years running away screaming, Snape observed Hermione for a moment. Finally, with a groan of protest, he acquiesced and walked over.

"What counts as goofy?" he asked despairingly.

"Well, I guess we could stick our tongues out at the camera."

"It has always been my hope to look like a dog on camera," Snape commented derisively.

"If you have any better ideas, feel free to suggest them, sir." Hermione responded back with a huff.

"Fine." A few seconds later, the picture was taken and Snape looked extra, well, Snape-ish, as if trying to convince anyone who might happen upon him that there was no way he just took a picture with his tongue sticking out.

With a scowl still deepening his frown lines, Snape turned to Hermione, "to the Quidditch pitch then?"

"Wh-what? Already? Shouldn't we save that one for last or something so that I have time to prep myself?" she asked worriedly, trying to prolong the time until the moment when she would have to fly.

"It's better to just get it over with. Why are you afraid of flying?"

"I'm not really sure; I've just never felt secure on a broom, or very adequate on one, for that matter."

Snape snorted, "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Sir, what do you mean?"

"Miss Granger, do you have a control issue?"

"What? No! Of course not. Well, I guess I can be a little controlling sometimes, but it's only for other peoples' good. When I make study guides for other people or tell Ron and Harry to do their homework, it's just because I know they'll be happier later on."

Snape spared her a glance, "No control issues at all then," he responded sarcastically.

They reached the Quidditch pitch in what seemed like no time at all to Hermione. Snape handed her the broom while holding the camera expectantly in the air.

"Sir, I _really _don't want to do this. Are you sure we shouldn't just have you confront your fear?"

"Mine would be infeasible for this task. Miss Granger, do you want to go to Hawaii or not?"

"Well, of course, but there must be another way."

"Unfortunately, there is not."

Hermione trembled, trying to pull herself together and just grab the broom and ride it. She simply could not do it. She glanced over her shoulder again to see Snape looking at her derisively.

"Do you think you could conquer your fear at a faster pace?"

"It's not as easy as it looks you know, it wouldn't hurt you to be more supportive!" Hermione defended herself, her emotions frayed from the anxiety.

"If I support you better, will you hurry up?"

"Possibly."

With a huff, Snape crossed over to Hermione and brought his arms around her to grasp the broom.

"Close your eyes," he whispered softly.

Completely confused at his bipolar-ness, Hermione had no option but to obey the sultry instructions coming from behind her. As darkness enfolded her world, she felt the broom slip under her legs and felt Snape kick off from the ground. He held her tightly and, when she finally opened her eyes, she realized they were thirty feet off the ground and it really wasn't so awful.

"More comfortable now?" Snape asked, his voice back to its normal timbre.

"Slightly, yes."

"Do you believe you can handle riding this on your own?"

"Most likely."

"Alright, I'm going to bring us down and then you can ride on your own quickly while I take a picture."

"Yes sir."

After getting that shot, they hurried off to their next destination: the Room of Requirement.

After climbing up all the steps to the Room of Requirement, they both walked in front thinking about what they most wanted. Apparently, however, they'd both been thinking about different steps. On one side of the room was the Mirror of Erised. On the other, a closet filled with blue clothes.

"The Mirror of Erised?" Hermione questioned, quirking an eyebrow

"This is the easiest way to 'find our heart's deepest desire', unless we want to get the extra credit and defeat the Dark Lord."

"Of course! That's brilliant!"

"I do have my moments," Snape responded sarcastically.

After taking a quick picture of the mirror, where Hermione saw herself as a successful career woman and could only guess at what Snape saw, they both donned the blue clothes from the closet (simply throwing on blue robes over their normal clothes, of course, propriety must be maintained) and took a picture. Hermione was hard-pressed to keep herself from laughing when she spotted the infamous Potions Professor clothed in all blue.

"Bit of a change from the norm for you Professor," Hermione mentioned offhandedly.

"If you show that picture to anyone who isn't directly involved in getting us to Hawaii, I swear my hand will just twitch over your drink someday."

"Of course Professor," she rolled her eyes. How melodramatic!

As the pair walked towards the Hogwarts gates, Snape mentioned that the majority of the list would have to take place in Muggle areas.

"Yes sir."

"Part of our assignment is to acquire Muggle currency."

"I have some on me."

"Oh?"

"I am Muggle-born you know."

"Obviously, however, I don't see the need for Muggle currency when in the proximity of wizards."

"Well clearly, we need it now, so it's best not to question it." Hermione pointed out as Snape pulled out the camera to take a picture of her money.

With a quick pop, Snape Apparated the two of them to Muggle London, where they began the search for a fortune cookie.

Finally, they came across a Chinese restaurant and stepped inside.

"Sir, should we have a quick lunch here to refill the requirement? I'm assuming, of course, that you've never eaten here before."

"Indeed, I have not. Would you care to have lunch, Miss Granger?" he asked courteously.

"Of course."

A waiter sat them and they quickly ordered before going back to the list to continue coming up with strategies.

After coming up with a plan, an awkward silence settled in the room.

"So…" Hermione trailed off, unsure of what to say and yet fearful of the oppressive silence.

"So?" Snape asked.

"So, just out of curiosity, how are you able to empathize with my experiences of abuse?"

"Is this your typical lunch conversation?" Snape asked scathingly.

"No, but I'm trying to make conversation and not indulge in inane chatter about the weather."

"Fine, but we can find a different topic."

"Okay… what's your cat's name?" Hermione figured she might as well figure out what Snape thought of her in her cat-form.

"Suplina."

"How did you acquire her?"

"I… stumbled upon her, literally."

The silence fell once again. Once the food came, everything was easier as they could ignore the lack of conversation by eating. Near the end of lunch, Hermione was getting fed up with the silence and with her lunch partner.

"Miss Granger, I apologize. I didn't mean to make this meal so uncomfortable. I simply didn't know how to act. I don't make a habit of going out to lunch with my students."

Hermione's anger dissipated as she absorbed his words. It was moments like these that it truly clicked that Severus Snape was a man, and not just a Professor. He was a human being. He could feel awkward and uncomfortable in certain situations and not know what to do. For some strange reason, Hermione found this realization rather endearing.

With the check came two fortune cookies and they both cracked them open and took pictures with them before reading them.

Hermione glanced down at hers, "_Before the flower blooms, there must be storms_. This sounds more like poetry than a fortune."

"Mine is similar. _Four eyes step from one heart and see another heart in its entirety_… that doesn't even make the slightest bit of sense!"

"Whatever, let's just move on to the next task." Snape's fortune had made Hermione a bit uncomfortable; she was hoping she had interpreted the message wrong. She must have, they received the fortunes in a Muggle establishment after all.

A few blocks down, Hermione spotted a candy store and pulled Snape inside. His look of disgust at the glimmering lights and colors accompanied by screaming kids said it all. With a quick glance around, she grabbed a candy that she was sure was not sold in wizarding shops.

"Next stop, costumes," she announced only to hear a groan in response.

As Halloween was in a few days, Hermione had no trouble finding a store that sold costumes. She and Snape both picked out their costumes and then Snape, after finding an abandoned alley, Apparated them to a pumpkin patch. They quickly threw on their costumes and headed towards the pumpkins.

Hermione laughed when she saw Snape's outfit. He, fittingly, had chosen to be Dracula.

"Good look for you sir."

"Fits me well, yes? Yours is quite… complimentary, Miss Granger."

For some reason, his words made Hermione blush faintly. She had picked the costume simply because it was one of the few that would fit her, but it did show off a few of her assets rather nicely. She had on a Victorian dress that narrowed her waist and pushed her chest up a bit. She did notice a few of the men at the pumpkin patch eyeing her appreciatively.

She and Snape quickly bought a pumpkin, took a picture with it and headed on to the next part of the scavenger hunt.

"Last part of the scavenger hunt in Muggle London is the rollercoaster."

"Yes sir."

They found a carnival with a little kiddy rollercoaster and went on it. Hermione couldn't help but giggle when she saw the worried look that Snape cast the machinery.

"Are you quite sure those Muggles knew what they were doing when they built this?"

"I'm reasonably certain that it should hold up as we ride in it Professor."

"Very well then." Although trying to act calm, Snape failed rather miserably as his knuckles turned white from the pressure that he exerted on the safety bar.

Before heading back to the school, Hermione raced into a bookstore and came out with a picture book.

"What on Earth is that for?" Snape asked.

"For the extra credit, it should be easy to read this and summarize it quickly."

"Know-it-all," Snape responded appreciatively.

"As always."

They Apparated back to Hogsmeade and Hermione turned to Snape, "so how exactly are we supposed to go swimming in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Well, for most students, that would seem implausible, but for someone who is familiar with the layout, like myself, this is a perfectly normal suggestion."

"Really?"

Without a word, Snape led Hermione through various pathways, obviously finding his way with ease. When she was about ready to ask him where in the world they were going, he led her through thick tree branches that opened into the most amazing meadow Hermione had ever seen.

"What is this place?" she asked with wonder.

"This, Miss Granger, is one of the many secrets of the Forbidden Forest."

She looked over and saw, with surprise, Snape removing his outer layers of clothing. At her questioning glance, he reminded her, "we have to actually _swim _in the Forbidden Forest, remember?"

She watched as he transfigured his pants into swimming shorts before entering the water. She couldn't help how her eyes traced his figure, which was surprisingly built considering his residence in the dungeons.

After pulling her eyes away from fear of being caught, Hermione pulled off her outer robe and transfigured her clothes into a bikini. She felt a bit self-conscious when she realized Snape was watching her walk over to the water. She finally entered and sighed in delight when she realized that the water was warm and wonderful. With glee, she swam towards the waterfall.

She ducked underneath and looked around at the beauty before Snape entered the small space as well.

"This is the most amazing place ever."

"Indeed it is. It is one of my most favorite places to come when I need somewhere to gather my thoughts."

"Thank you for sharing it with me."

"Under the circumstances, the mutual desire to go to Hawaii, I thought it appropriate."

"Yes."

They both fell silent; however, this was not awkward like during lunch, this was more peaceful, two souls appreciating nature together.

Hermione glanced over only to see Snape eyeing her body. She was surprised to see a small hint of pink in his cheeks when he looked up and saw that she'd caught him.

"Forgive me. I was just noticing the- um- design of your bathing suit."

"Really? What did you find so intriguing?" Hermione suddenly felt as if she had a dose of confidence, something in the way that he had been looking at her had made her body start to grow warm.

"Just the general design, nothing specific."

"Of course."

And then, without any conscious thought, Hermione was kissing him. Her body pressed up against his and shivered with the skin-on-skin contact. Her lips moved against his and she could swear his moved with hers until, suddenly, he broke away, panting. "Miss Granger, that is not appropriate."

Feeling the rejection overwhelm her, Hermione ran out from under the waterfall and swam back to their belongings. Of course, she couldn't get away that easily.

"Miss Granger, please, let me explain."

"There's no explanation needed Professor. I apologize; I was way out of line and I don't know what I was thinking."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of," he said more gently. "This just isn't the right time. I'm your professor and you're my student."

Hermione paused, was he hinting that perhaps there _would_ be a right time?

"I feel stupid," Hermione whispered.

"Well, don't," Snape said roughly, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. They both walked back to the castle silently, each lost in their thoughts.

As they got near the entrance, Snape veered off the path and reached a bench.

"Sir, I really don't want to talk about what happened anymore."

"I wasn't planning on it. I thought we could quickly read that book you picked up and summarize it."

"Oh, of course."

**Results of the scavenger hunt are coming up next! If any of you have perverted minds like myself, I hope you enjoyed the hidden innuendos in the broom-riding scene.**

**Reviews are always appreciated, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**


	18. Belle of the Ball

**I apologize, I know it's been forever. I do have good excuses, my family basically has gone through hell in the last month and I had to deal with finals on top of all those problems… I won't go into details, but I've been reeling from everything and just couldn't get in the mood to write (if I'd tried, I probably would've killed Hermione and left Snape bleeding from a mortal wound). On a more positive note, I'm back now, so hopefully updates will quicken!**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, your comments mean a lot to me. There's a link to the dress that Hermione wears in this chapter on my profile (it's also a dress that I'm considering getting for my prom (: ).**

**Severus' Malfoy Maiden is an amazing beta!**

_Last Time_

_As they got near the entrance, Snape veered off the path and reached a bench. _

"_Sir, I really don't want to talk about what happened anymore."_

"_I wasn't planning on it. I thought we could quickly read that book you picked up and summarize it."_

"_Oh, of course."_

"And the winner is…" Hermione held her breath, adrenaline pulsing through her as she waited for the results.

"…Our very own Professor Snape and Miss Granger!" Dumbledore's voice filled the hall and Hermione grinned. She'd known it was likely they would win since they did everything plus the extra credit, but anything could've happened.

"Professor!" Hermione turned excitedly towards Snape, "Professor! We won!"

"Well observed Miss Granger," Snape told her sarcastically, but his tone was ruined by the small smile of triumph on his face. They would go to Hawaii over the Christmas break. Hermione's family was going to join them and Snape was able to invite whoever he wanted as well.

That night was the Halloween Ball and, with it came the end to all of the date activities and hype. As she got ready, she realized how much had changed in just two weeks. She'd gone forwards and backwards in her relationship with Snape, and yet, somehow, they seemed to have developed mutual respect, and possibly more. She quickly forced her mind to ignore the scene in the Forbidden Forest as it simply caused conflict in her thoughts.

She slipped on her dress, smiling as the fabric ran over her body. She had gone with a Muggle style, liking how it complemented her slender form. The deep blue fabric flowed down her body easily and the slit near the leg was elegant, rather than slutty. She pinned her hair up in a loose up-do, letting some tendrils hang down to frame her face.

Taking one last deep breath, she began walking, her heels clicking rhythmically on the floor, to her and Draco's living room.

"Hermione! You look great!" Ginny ecstatically bounded over to her to begin looking at every part of her dress.

"I guess you clean up nicely," Draco teased her.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Hermione cautiously approached, opening it to find an immaculately dressed Snape waiting for her in an impressive suit.

"Miss Granger, you look… nice," Snape stated in his velvety voice.

"Thank you sir, you look nice as well."

"Shall we be going?" He offered his arm.

Hermione placed her hand within the crook of his elbow and they set off toward the Great Hall. She tried to come up with something to talk about, but found herself at a loss. Normally, it was easy to come up with some topic of conversation, but for some reason, the change in setting had left her unsure of herself. Thankfully, Snape saved her from the awkwardness.

"Are you pleased that we'll be going to Hawaii?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, of course. I'm going to bring my parents as well. Do you know who you'll bring?"

"Probably Albus."

"Well, I'm sure that'll make the trip more… oh gosh, don't tell me I'll have to see him in a speedo?"

"I'm afraid that your worries are well founded. It is very likely that we will be subjected to that view." A small smirk of his lips showed that he was entertained my Hermione's distress.

"And you just _had _to invite him, didn't you?"

"Of course, I figured if you became blind then you would have to drop out of Potions and I wouldn't have to listen to you quote the book incessantly."

"Oh very funny, I'm dying of laughter."

Snape just smirked in response as they strode into the Great Hall together. Everything was situated as it had been for the Yule Ball in Hermione's fourth year. Instead of winter decorations this time however, there were bats, pumpkins, and candles everywhere. Somehow the effect seemed to be pleasant rather than scary.

Snape guided them both to a table near the back of the room. Hermione settled herself in the chair and turned once more to her professor only to see him staring off at another pair. She looked to see what was so intriguing and only saw other students.

"What are you looking at sir?"

"I'm trying to memorize who's sitting where so that I will be able to know who leaves when and then I'll catch as many people in compromising positions as possible."

"I should've known it'd be something vindictive like that. Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the staff meeting when he first announced this? You don't have to do any patrolling tonight."

"Regardless, I would rather not lose the opportunity to take points away from your _noble _house that so enjoys shagging in extremely _classy_ places."

"You have to admit, they are brave. They run the risk of you coming across them."

"Perhaps," he conceded.

As everyone entered, most shied away from their table. Neville and Luna sat down near them, however, as did Dumbledore and McGonagall. After dinner, the tables were cleared so that the dancing could begin. Both Snape and Hermione stood, looking everywhere except each other, for a while before Snape finally offered his hand to Hermione.

They began a waltz that carried them around the floor. Hermione suppressed a sigh at how wonderful it felt to be in his arms. He guided her steadily, supporting her with just the right amount of pressure. Instead of leaving the floor as soon as the obligatory dance ended like Hermione had assumed would happen, Snape stayed on the dance floor with her as the song changed to a slow one.

Hermione cautiously wound her arms around his neck and moved a bit closer. She felt his arms tangle around her waist in response. They maintained a bit of distance between them for propriety, but she could still feel his chest lightly brush her own. She looked up into his eyes and saw a softness there that she was not used to. She wanted to kiss him again, so much. She finally broke eye contact and looked away simply to control her desires. She knew that they couldn't have anything happen between them while she was in school. She didn't even know if Snape would want there to be anything between them, she could only hope. The look in his eyes tonight, though, did indeed foster hope.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Snape looking at her curiously, "what are you thinking about?"

She instantly blushed, not wanting to admit that he'd been the subject of her thoughts. "Um, the weather?"

"You really will need to improve your lying skills if you want to gain proficiency at Occlumency. Even if you Occluded your thoughts perfectly, all a person would need to do is ask you a question."

Hermione sighed, knowing he was right, but not wanting to tell him the truth.

At her silence, Snape seemed to grow more curious, "you're really not going to tell me are you?" he murmured.

He was staring at her intently, and yet she knew he was not using Legilimency. She watched as he turned away, eyes downcast. His expression gave away no emotion and yet, Hermione could sense tension in the way he was holding her.

"Professor, are you mad at me?"

"No, Miss Granger, why would I be mad?" he asked scathingly.

"Well, that tone, for one, seems to hint at some hostility," she pointed out.

"You are clearly misinterpreting my actions."

Stubborn, bipolar man! With no idea how to handle the situation, Hermione remained quiet for a few more minutes.

"I didn't want to tell you what I was thinking because it was embarrassing. It wasn't anything mean about you or something I'm trying to hide from you," she told him quietly a small while later.

The tension in his grip eased ever so slightly, letting Hermione see that her guess had been right.

"Do you still insist on not telling me what it was?"

"If it would ease your mind, I can tell you, I'd just prefer not to."

"I won't push you," he mumbled.

Hermione could tell that he still really wanted to know and wouldn't be able to fully trust that she hadn't been trying to hide anything from him unless she told him.

"Fine. I was thinking about us and what could potentially happen in the future," she blurted out, shyly.

"That is something we should probably discuss. I guess it's good you brought it up," he seemed uncomfortable with the topic of conversation as well.

"Can I ask whether I have any reason to hope that perhaps after graduation we can… well, stay in contact?"

"You may hope for that," he stated simply.

Elation filled Hermione. They had made no promises, and yet, with that small confession she could see that the affection was not one-sided. She responded by moving a small bit closer to him, glancing around quickly to make sure there were no observers to notice their stepping over the normal, polite distance maintained between dancers. His arms pulled tighter on her waist, bringing her even closer.

They said no more, simply danced and looked into each others' eyes. Hermione felt as if she could look into his black depths forever. It was near impossible to read what he was thinking, but as she got to know him better, she improved. He seemed to have opened up to her more and she hoped that one day he would let her see past his outer façade. Perhaps she would one day understand the enigma that was her professor.

The night flew by with dancing, punch, and quiet conversations. Eventually, midnight approached and Hermione began yawning.

"I think I'd better take you back to your room before you fall asleep on the dance floor," Snape teased her.

"Th-" she yawned again, "that's probably a good idea."

He proffered his arm for her and they walked through the school towards her quarters. She walked slowly, hoping to prolong the night as long as possible. Eventually, they reached her rooms and Hermione stood shyly in front of her door.

"Thank you Professor Snape, that was really fun."

"It was my pleasure, Miss Granger. Surprisingly enough, the night was not as odious as I'd originally expected."

Hermione smiled, knowing that in his words that could quite possibly mean it'd been the best night of his life.

"I'm glad." She continued standing there and so did he. She wanted him to kiss her, and yet knew that they shouldn't until she'd graduated. He seemed undecided as well. She watched as he quickly glanced around the hallway. Seeing no one, he picked up her hand and kissed it softly. "Goodnight, Miss Granger."

"Goodnight, Professor," she whispered back. With a flurry of robes, he marched off through the hallway. Hermione felt the pink tinge on her cheeks and hurried inside so no one would witness her disheveled state. She leaned back on the door with her eyes closed, only to hear a gasp from across the room.

Her eyes shot open only to see Ginny and Draco quickly trying to rearrange themselves, and their clothing, on the couch.

"Having fun, you two?" Hermione asked teasingly.

"Oh, we-we were just talking about… you know, stuff," Draco told her quickly.

"Draco you suck at lying." Ginny turned back towards Hermione, "would you please mind knocking before coming into the room from now on… or maybe we could set aside times that you'll just happen to be out of the room? I know you know that we were snogging, and you're just lucky that's all we were doing."

Hermione laughed at Ginny's brazenness, "sure thing, Gin."

Ginny got up as if to go, "you don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm just going to change into more normal clothes and then patrol some."

"Oh, in that case," she plopped back on the couch. Hermione smiled to herself as she got into normal robes.

"I'll be out for a while, so you don't have to rush."

"Mmkay," Ginny responded.

Hermione walked through the halls before ducking into an abandoned hallway to transform. She ran into Snape's quarters to find him still in his suit, sitting on the edge of his bed looking off into space.

"Dreaming, Master?"

"Hmm?"

"Hello, anyone there?"

"What? Oh, sorry Suplina. I was distracted."

"Clearly. What's up?"

"I'm just thinking."

"About…?"

"Hermione Granger."

Hermione felt a thrill in her stomach in response to the way he said her name, it was as if it was a precious jewel that he was worshipping with his voice.

"I just-" he hissed in pain, "I must go."

"I'm coming too."

"Fine."

He quickly threw on his cloak and grabbed his mask. Hermione jumped in his pocket and they rushed through the school, avoiding all the late-night partiers. With a quick pop, Hogsmeade faded away to reveal a desolate area.

"Severus, Severus, what are we going to do with you?" a voice sneered.

**To be continued… **

**Please review, your input and comments help me write (and update quicker!)**


	19. Confrontations

**I'm so sorry for the long wait, especially after a cliffy! I'm horrible, I know.**

**Thanks to the amazing beta Severus' Malfoy Maiden!**

_Last Time_

_He quickly threw on his cloak and grabbed his mask. Hermione jumped in his pocket and they rushed through the school, avoiding all the late-night partiers. With a quick pop, Hogsmeade faded away to reveal a desolate area. _

"_Severus, Severus, what are we going to do with you?" a voice sneered._

"My Lord?" Hermione felt as Severus made to bow when he suddenly collapsed, shaking from the pain of Voldemort's Cruciatus. His whole body shivered and she could feel all of his individual muscles twitching. She flinched as she thought about what he was enduring. She wanted to make it better, and yet, there was nothing she could do. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stood up, shaking.

"Severus, you have a familiar, don't you? A cat, perhaps?"

"Yes, my Lord," he gasped.

"What is your cat's name?"

"Suplina, My Lord."

Hermione's breath started to increase in pace; Voldemort must know, or was this completely unrelated? No, Voldemort must know, he wouldn't randomly ask about Snape's cat right after making him endure the Cruciatus. Snape obviously had no idea what was going on, but Voldemort must've somehow found out.

'_You need to Disapparate!' _She told him over their connection.

'_Why? Maybe he's just curious about you' _he asked back.

'_Later, I…' _she was cut off by Voldemort.

"Did you realize that Suplina lives another life under another name?"

"My Lord?"

'_Shit, shit, shit…. You need to leave, now!'_

"Your cat is Hermione Granger in her animagus form."

Hermione felt his whole body stiffen. She had no idea what he would do.

"Really?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere Severus. Now, I understand that you didn't realize that the pet was actually your student, so I will show you some mercy… this time. However, I fully know that you have her with you now. Hand her over."

Hermione took a deep breath. She knew what she must do.

"_Do it. Hand me over, I'm not worth you losing your position."_

"My Lord, how will I explain to the old codger if she is suddenly dead?"

"You will tell him that she was in Hogsmeade and we captured her. She was already dead when you arrived."

"_Professor, do it. I'm not worth it."_

She felt his hand enter the pocket she was hidden in. She expected him to grab her, but instead, she felt him reach down past where she was and push a button. She watched as it glowed green, then pale blue.

"My Lord, as much as I would love to give her over, I don't think that's going to work so well." He whipped out his wand and stood facing him, the two staring at each other across the grassy field that had suddenly become a dueling mat. None of the other Death Eaters were present; clearly Snape was the only one to be summoned. They both moved slowly, constantly circling each other, but neither actually beginning the duel.

"Severus, what do you think you are doing? Where is your loyalty to your Master?" Voldemort hissed.

"My loyalty has not lain with you for many years. You should have known when you refused my request for Lily Potter's life."

"Still care for that Mudblood, Severus? Maybe you even… love her? You're starting to sound like Dumbledore…"

"Well, that's wonderful to hear," a voice popped out of the trees behind Voldemort. Dumbledore emerged with many members of the Order flanking him. Harry walked alongside the Headmaster.

Voldemort glanced back at Snape who had a small smirk on his face, "How dare you!"

With a flourish, he placed his wand on his arm, calling all of the other Death Eaters.

Hermione heard Dumbledore say to Harry, "quickly now, my boy, we don't have much time."

Harry whispered the words that ensured that Voldemort would cease to exist.

Hermione jumped out of Snape's pocket and transformed in time for the battle to begin. She sent curses all over and, amidst the confusion, lost track of Snape. Eventually, they found each other and stood back to back, sending curses and deflecting others.

"Professor, I'm sorry," she shouted. She heard no reply; she made to glance back to make sure he was okay when she saw a purple flash coming towards her. It was too late and, with a gasp, she fell.

XXX

When Hermione blearily opened her eyes, it was to see only darkness. She sat up slowly and peered around, trying to figure out where she was. Without warning, a lantern on the far side of the room lit up and Hermione saw the white uniform beds of the Hospital Wing.

"Oh, dear, you're awake."

"Madame Pomfrey, what happened?"

"You were in the Battle. You were hit by a nasty curse; Professor Snape worked endlessly to find the cure. He finally figured it out, but you've been out for a week."

"A whole week? How is everyone else?"

She saw a brief flash of emotion in the Mediwitch's eyes before she smiled gently, "Everyone's fine. You need your rest now." She poured a potion down her throat. Hermione knew she'd been lying and wanted to demand to know the casualties of the battle, but she'd suddenly grown so sleepy, as if she hadn't slept in years. Everything went black once again.

XXX

The next time Hermione awoke, everything seemed clearer and more life-like. Daylight was streaming into the building and when she looked to her left, she saw a boy with messy black hair staring back at her.

"Mione! You're awake!"

"Harry, oh, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Ditto. I'm so glad you're doing better. I was… well, I was really worried."

She didn't say anything, just reached over and gave him a hug. She felt him cling to her like a lost child. She pretended not to notice him sniffling against her head.

"Harry, what happened?"

"How much do you remember?"

"I know when Voldemort fell and a little bit after that, but it was hard to see anything in all the confusion."

"I know what you mean. Basically, after I" -he paused-"I killed him, all hell broke loose. I still don't know the details of what happened, I don't think anyone does. There were casualties on both sides, but eventually we overpowered them."

"Who died?" she asked with a hitch in her breath. She was worried about everyone, but there was only one face swirling in her mind. She needed him to be alive.

Harry took a deep breath before answering; Hermione could see the grief deep in his eyes, "Remus, Tonks, Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, and a few others."

Hermione felt ashamed at the very small swoop of relief at the name that was most notably absent from the list. Then, reality set in as her eyes clouded in grief for those that would no more live to see the light of day.

Harry held her close as she cried for all of the ones who were lost. After her tears had stopped flowing, she simply felt nauseous; so many families were torn apart and so many lives were brutally cut short. She didn't understand why they died and she survived. She knew, theoretically, that in the heat of battle, anything can happen and it was just pure luck, and bad luck on their part, but in the moment, she wondered about fate and a possible deity, how would a great big person in the sky be able to decide how all of that worked? She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind, it was making her head hurt, which, coupled with her nausea, was not a good thing.

"Harry, can you get Madame Pomfrey? I think I need some more potions."

"Of course Mione, I'll see you later, okay?" He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before running off to get the Healer.

Hermione took a few deep breaths, trying to suppress the nausea. Faces popped in her head. Remus and Tonks had been so in love; at least they didn't have to mourn, they had left together. A few more tears escaped as Hermione remembered Hagrid as he waved to them from the Staff table all of the time. She wished she would have spent more time with him that year. Her thoughts swirled back around to Snape. She couldn't help but feel extremely relieved that he had survived. She desperately wanted him with her now; she remembered the time he had comforted her and she needed that now. She knew he would not come though, she had ruined everything forever and all because she had been curious. Curiosity killed the cat, she thought… although, ironically, her curiosity made her into a cat and she was still living…

Madame Pomfrey came bustling in and broke her from her contemplation.

"Mr. Potter told me you need some more potions, dear. Are you not feeling well again?"

"I just feel a bit nauseous," she whispered back.

Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding. Hermione drifted off into sleep after swallowing the appropriate potions.

**Alright, I wanted to get a chapter out there since it's been so long, sorry about the length. I thought it would make an awkward transition if I made this longer.**

**I also have a question for you guys: do you prefer longer chapters with more time between updates or shorter chapters with a shorter wait? Review please!**


	20. Darkness

**As always, thanks to Severus' Malfoy Maiden for her beta-ing. **

**I don't own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters.**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone, we are now past 200! And I'm so sorry for the wait, I think I say this every time, so hopefully next time I won't have to. I graduate in a few weeks and hopefully after that, I'll have more time/incentive to write!**

_Last Time_

_Madame Pomfrey came bustling in and broke her from her contemplation. _

"_Mr. Potter told me you need some more potions, dear. Are you not feeling well again?"_

"_I just feel a bit nauseous," she whispered back. _

_Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding. Hermione drifted off into sleep after swallowing the appropriate potions._

He sat in his room, shrouded in black. Black clothing, black darkness, black, musty smells, black shadows, black everything. The black matched his soul. His black, black soul filled with black, black emotions. He thought about the black night of the Final Battle, yet another black night in his black existence. Other nights rushed before his eyes, Death Eater meetings, death, hopelessness, pleading faces, all covered in black.

"Fuck," he whispered in the darkness of his room.

His thoughts went to Hermione- Miss Granger, he corrected himself- he wanted to say that he'd never held even the slightest tender feelings toward her. He wished he could say that, but he knew better than to lie to himself. Lie to others, yes, but never to himself.

And yet, even she had lied to him. He'd thought that maybe he'd found someone who could help him feel more alive, someone who would help ease the blackness of his life. She'd been like a small white light breaking into his black existence. So had Suplina for that matter, he really should've seen the connection between his two white lights that began piercing his blackness around the same time.

He knew others were celebrating the defeat of the Dark Lord, but how could one celebrate at a time like this? Yes, he was pleased to be free, but what was freedom when suddenly the only thing you had been useful for in life was thrown away? He wanted to be comfortable always being alone and rejected, but he wasn't. Unlike what many believed, he did not want to be a complete recluse with no one around. He wasn't the most social person on the planet, but he still wanted company. The Order, while he was never truly accepted, gave him a place where he belonged. The Death Eaters gave him the same, although with years that company became less than enjoyable. Either way, with the war, he belonged. He had a purpose. And now, now he had no idea what his purpose was. He had none.

When had he allowed himself to hope? For he realized it now- although he hadn't while it'd occurred- that's what she'd brought to his miserable existence. Of course, he still hadn't ever expected to live past the Final Battle, confrontation, scuffle- whatever they were going to call it. Regardless, he'd always assumed he'd go out in a moment of glory, let everyone finally regret how they'd treated him. If he couldn't be respected or recognized in life, why not in death, right? That moment had passed, though, his chance was lost. He was condemned to sit and ponder- alone.

With a sudden decisiveness, he decided he didn't want to be alone- nor did he deserve it. He wondered if perhaps he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he wouldn't normally act this rashly and emotionally like a bloody Gryffindor. Either way, he knew he could no longer tolerate sitting in his room. He needed a purpose, or at least to be doing something. Realizing that he wasn't exactly sober, he swayed a little as he stood up.

He crept out, using the blackness inside of him to mask his movements through the castle enshrouded by night. He did not dwell on where his feet were taking him; technically, he was well aware of where he was going, but he pretended not to. His ever present scowl remained plastered to his face, even as he gently pushed on the door to the Hospital Wing. He snuck inside, using the darkness to hide himself.

He glanced at the girl sleeping on the cot. Stupid girl, why had she deceived him? She must've been looking for something to laugh about with her friends. Or maybe Harry-bloody-Potter had her spy on him to make sure he wasn't actually working with the Dark Lord. And yet, he knew none of these conclusions fit what he knew about her. He remembered the sincerity in her eyes when she vowed that she trusted him completely. His face still grew warm when he remembered the feel of her lips on his. She had kissed him, how did that fit into this bloody complicated situation? If he was a different man, perhaps he would've given her a chance to explain, he was Severus Snape, spy of twenty years, he couldn't let his guard down like that. He was well aware that this topic could bring out emotions that he worked long and hard to suppress. What was it about her that made him vulnerable? Regardless of the answer, he would no longer be vulnerable; vulnerability only gave the opportunity for pain and destruction, he wouldn't go down that path yet again.

Instead, he appeased himself by sitting on the chair beside her bed, observing how the moonlight hit her curls in a way that made her hair shine faintly in the darkness of the room. Once upon a time, he might've believed that her light could fix some on his own blackness as well, however, he no longer allowed himself such frivolous fantasies. He would sit and observe, but not partake.

He could only hope it would be enough.

XXX

Hermione knew someone was watching her; in fact, their eyes had been trained fully on her for approximately six minutes and twenty three seconds, give or take about twenty seconds depending on how long it'd taken her to gain consciousness. Living through a war seemed to do weird things to her levels of paranoia. She awoke almost instantly upon recognizing the weight of this mystery person's stare. Furthermore, she'd also maintained the façade of sleep while casually shifting so that she was palming her wand. She'd been waiting for a full seven minutes for the person to reveal whether they were friend or foe, but so far, there was nothing.

She now figured that there were two options: 1. Someone had decided to watch her sleep- she didn't believe the mystery person was Madame Pomfrey, but she could be wrong. Or 2. She was as paranoid as Mad-Eye and the combination of that and the Dreamless Sleep were making her go insane. Looking at the options, she recognized that there was no reason for her to continue feigning sleep. Neither of the situations should turn out to be deadly. Unless, of course, she'd forgotten an option, which, she realized was sadly quite probable with how tired she felt.

Keeping her breathing even, she opened her eyes to meet the black orbs that she knew so well.

Severus had come.

He knew she was awake and she knew he was there and yet neither said anything. Just as Hermione was considering closing her eyes to go back to sleep, his voice cut quietly through the silence.

His normal velvety tone sounded harsh and chipped to her ears, "how could you?" he whispered.

Her eyes opened again as she processed what he'd asked. How could she have gotten herself into the Hospital Wing, been a witch, been friends with Harry, been discovered? It finally occurred to her drug-plugged brain what he most likely meant.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," was all that came out. She wanted to give him explanations, reasons, her feelings, but nothing else would leave her mouth.

She watched as his face darkened and his eyes narrowed, "you didn't hurt me," he spit out, "for you to hurt me, I would have to care and I can assure you that I most definitely do not care about you."

He swept out, his robe flaring more than usual with his anger.

On a typical day, Hermione probably would've sat down (although that would've been difficult considering that she was already lying in bed) and cried about how much she had messed up. Their relationship- well, friendship, if you could even call it that- now lay shattered on the ground. Any trust that they had formed no longer existed. She cared for him, had tender feelings for him, she was falling fast, and she had messed up, big time. She really wanted to help him, but she could tell that her mistakes were making that impossible.

Normally, she would've cried and thought about all of those things, however, in this moment, tonight, she had no power against the potions. As everything was spinning out of control with her and Snape, she couldn't even control herself and her reactions. A sole tear made its way down her cheek; before it'd even trailed a centimeter, she was fast asleep.

XXX

Severus paced in his room glaring at the monotonous wall as it passed by, never changing. He let his anger slowly dissipate, bit by bit. He didn't know why he'd gone back to his room, he was now repressed with the same loneliness that had plagued him before. Memories continually ambushed his mind; Occlumency could be damned, he might be able to hide his thoughts from others, but he sure as hell couldn't control his own mind.

Finally deciding that he couldn't continually pace the room, he laid on the bed, expecting to still have the continuous thoughts swirling ominously through his head. Instead, he couldn't even register surprise at the absence of this as he instantly fell fast asleep.

**I have a story for you guys! So, I'm a senior in high school, for those of you who don't know, and I just got asked to ball (it's prom, we just call it senior ball instead). To ask me, the guy put a picture of Snape on my locker with a note that said "Severus Snape: Evil Lord of Dark Arts, Perpetual Frowner, Lover of Black, and Official Ball Matchmaker. Snape thinks you should go to Ball with [name omitted for privacy reasons], and Snape is never wrong" and gave me flowers.**

**How great is that? He obviously knows me well! And, of course, I said yes… how could I refuse that?**

**Review please :)**


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